


No Surprises

by yutorin



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP, Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, And Ryutaro, Day At The Beach, Everyone's rich except Ariyama, F/M, Fashion Model Yamada, Hotels, Infidelity, Just...lots of food?, Keito has a sexy car, M/M, Originally Posted in 2015, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, Raiya makes an appearance, They all eat a lot in this fic, controlling parents, he's not dead in this AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-07 22:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20824682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yutorin/pseuds/yutorin
Summary: Yuto's life has been planned out from the moment he was born, decisions most of the world got to make all predetermined by his parents. Now as an adult he has to decide if he's going to continue along the path they've lain out for him, or if he's going to abandon it all.





	1. Chapter 1

Yuto stretched his arms, glad that classes were done for the day. Glad that it was Friday, and he had a weekend to look forward to. He knew that he _chose _university, but he was still happy it was over for the week. He called for a cab, giving the driver his address and cheerily chatting with her as they made their way across town. She dropped him off in front of a towering hotel in the middle of the city, only overlooked by the rival hotel sitting across the street. Yuto thanked her, paying dutifully and practically skipping as he made his way through the golden doors, the camera he nearly always kept with him bumping him in the chest with each little hop; but he paid it no mind, happy to just be _home._

He greeted the suited men in the lobby, and those at the front desk, and their polite _"Welcome back, Master Nakajima."_'s were tinted with a warm familiarity that he loved. He flashed them all smiles as he made his way to the elevator, pushing the button for the penthouse and watching the elevator doors—shined within an inch of their life—slowly close, and he examined the rich, red carpet and the gilded walls of the elevator as it rose, taking him up, beyond where any temporary guest would stay, to the very top of the building, its doors swinging open to reveal a beautiful sitting room, the space holding a peculiar aura of grandeur mixed with an obvious air that it held within it's walls was a purely male household. Yuto exited the elevator, kicking off his leather loafers and slipping into his house shoes, calling out into the expansive space

"I'm home!"

"Welcome back!" A familiar voice called from the kitchen, Yuto smiling and dumping his bag next to the couch and placing his camera on the coffee table. A small, muscular young man with perfectly styled brown hair and a blinding smile peered around the door of the pantry, and Yuto waved, slumping down on the couch and craning his neck to look over the back of it and face his friend. Judging on the smudges of eyeshadow still left around his eyes, Yamada too had just gotten home.

Yamada Ryosuke was one of Yuto's two roommates. He was the only one among the three of them that didn't come from a ridiculously wealthy family, and he was also the only one that actually had a job. The older man had foregone pursuing a higher education, and instead he now worked as a professional fashion model, modeling for a wide variety of top fashion brands and magazines, although the bulk of his work was done for Yuto's mother's fashion line. Yamada and Yuto had been best friends since they could both remember, and Yuto couldn't help but smile as the smaller man came to join him on the couch, bringing with him two bowls of ice cream and handing Yuto one.

"Don't go near Chinen's bedroom." Yamada warned him, flopping down next to him and taking a bite of his ice cream. Yuto blinked in surprise at the warning.

"Why?"

"Ryutaro's over."

"But I thought Chii had dinner with Takaki tonight?" Yamada pursed his lips, glancing across the room to the hall that led to their bedrooms.

"Oh, he does." Yuto frowned. Chinen Yuri was the third occupant of their penthouse apartment. The youngest and tiniest of them all, he was also the wealthiest, his family owning a company that made high quality large, leisure boats—yachts and cruise ships and the like. He—unlike many of their friends, and Yuto himself—didn't have to worry about taking on the family business; his older sister Saya and her husband already were being groomed to take over once Chinen's father decided to retire. Yet, due to his family's wealth Chinen did have one cross he had to bear—an arranged marriage.

It was understood in wealthy families that marriage wasn't done for love, it was done for good business, and the Chinen family was no exception to that. Chinen's hand in marriage had been promised to the oldest son of the Takaki family a few months before his seventeenth birthday. Chinen didn't refute the marriage, easily referring to Takaki Yuya as his fiancé, and he even seemed to like the older man, the two of them quite affectionate when they were together. Despite this Chinen had a not-so-secret boyfriend; Ryutaro, a poor college freshman whom Chinen seemed to like very much.

Both of Chinen's significant others knew about each other, but neither seemed to care much that the petite young man was seeing someone else. Takaki seemed to feel that it was just a phase, and he was waiting it out; willing to pretend that Ryu did not exist, so long as when he was around, everyone else did too. Ryutaro meanwhile was convinced that Chinen didn't love Takaki, and he seemed to think that one day the two of them would run away together. The whole situation was delicate, and sometimes it made Yuto rather uncomfortable, but he never said anything to his friend, empathetic, as—although they handled it very differently—he too was being forced into an arranged marriage.

Yuto himself was the product of wealth, his mother a fashion kingpin and his father the owner and CEO of a company that created high quality furniture. His parents had decided before he was even born that he as the oldest would take over his father's company, while his younger brother Raiya would take on his mother's. Yuto had been groomed from birth to be the perfect heir, attending private schools and learning etiquette and business strategy from a young age. He had done his best to live up to his parent's expectations as a child, but as he'd grown older he had begun to dislike that there seemed to be no surprises in his life, and he began to rebel against some of the institutions imposed upon him, not liking that everything had been decided for him, wanting to have some say in his future.

That rebellion was a part of the reason he had forgone taking a position in his father's company and instead had made the decision to go to university. Yet furthering his education was a side show, his main battle the one over his arranged marriage. He had been aware of the institution his whole life, but he hadn't been told that he would have to comply to it until his second year of middle school, when his parents informed him that he was to marry the heir to the Nishi hotel corporation. The Nishi corporation was an extremely large, very high class chain of hotels that had been steadily branching out—not only across Japan, but Europe and Australia as well. Apparently the marriage agreement had been in the works for years before Yuto had been aware of it, and it had been solidified without his consent.

He had been furious, and from that moment on the future marriage had always been a source of grief for him and his parents. There had been many attempts at coercion, and yelling matches and demands and refusals on both ends. In the end the marital agreement still stood between Yuto and the future owner of the Nishi hotels, but Yuto refused point blank to meet his fiancé, choosing for the most part to pretend that the person didn't exist. Every few months his parents would contact him and try and make him do something he'd told them he wouldn't—and their relationship had become extremely strained as he'd gotten older and become an adult. It wasn't something Yuto was proud of, but he had his beliefs, and he wasn't going to give up on them easily.

His train of thought was interrupted by a squeal of laughter, and he and Yamada both turned to see Chinen stumble into the living room; Ryutaro—a tall young man much larger than their petite friend—on his back, clinging as if he were a baby animal. Chinen was obviously struggling with the weight, but he managed to carry his boyfriend all the way to the front door before Ryu climbed down, the young man waving politely at Yamada and Yuto as Chinen said smugly

"I told you I could do it."

"Okay Yuri, you win this round." Ryutaro said with a sigh, and Chinen beamed, grabbing the taller man by his shirt collar and pulling him in for a kiss. Ryutaro moaned appreciatively, and Yuto looked away in embarrassment until the two separated, Ryutaro slipping on his shoes and biding them all a good night before disappearing into the depths of the elevator. Once his boyfriend was gone Chinen sighed, throwing himself onto the couch on Yamada's other side, opening his mouth expectantly and giving the older man a pointed look until Yamada spooned some ice cream into it. Yuto checked their hanging wall clock, surprised that Chinen wasn't slightly frantically getting ready for his date at this point, and he asked

"When is Takaki-kun coming to pick you up?"

"Not until—" Chinen glanced at the clock. "—crap!" He jumped up, dashing for the bathroom, and Yuto chuckled as he heard the sound of the shower turning on. Yamada smiled, and when he and Yuto finished their ice cream he took the bowls into the kitchen, placing them in the dishwasher. As he did so he said

"So Dai-chan wanted to come over tonight. I figured he and I could make the three of us something for dinner; that way we don't have to order take out or room service, and you still get plenty of time to work on that essay you were talking about. How does that sound to you?"

"Awesome." Arioka Daiki was Yamada's boyfriend. A college senior, Daiki and Yamada had been together for about three years now, and they were—in Yuto's opinion—meant to be. Daiki obviously adored Yamada, and his feelings were not one sided. Yuto had never seen Yamada happier than he was when he was with Daiki, and the relationship seemed to be an extremely healthy one. Daiki, like Yamada, came from a working class family, and although he was definitely a friend to Yuto and Chinen, he seemed to have a hard time understanding some of the aspects of their lives. Regardless, Yuto had accepted Daiki a long time ago, and he knew that the older man's presence would be a welcome one.

It wasn't long before there was a chime announcing that Takaki had arrived to pick Chinen up, a moderately tall man with long brown hair and a stunningly handsome face stepping out of the elevator moments later. Apparently this dinner date was a formal one, Takaki dressed in a three piece suit, a bouquet of flowers in one hand. Takaki greeted Yuto and Yamada, the three of them making light conversation until Chinen emerged from his room, wearing a stunning silky suit and a dazzling engagement ring, and he smiled at the sight of the older man, Takaki handing him the bouquet and placing a kiss on his cheek, saying honestly

"You look amazing, Yuri." Chinen beamed.

"You too, Yuya." Takaki smiled, offering Chinen his arm.

"Shall we be going?" Chinen nodded, Yuto and Yamada wishing the two a farewell as they left. Chinen had placed the flowers on their dining table before he'd walked out the door, and Yuto busied himself with getting them into a proper vase, just completing the action as Daiki arrived, the older man announcing his presence by tackling Yuto in a hug from behind. Yuto laughed, greeting the older man warmly as he felt Daiki's arms loosening, turning his attention into his boyfriend. Yamada and Daiki hugged, Daiki announcing that he'd brought ingredients for the meal they'd apparently already planned out. Yamada smiled, giving his boyfriend a quick kiss and when he pulled away Daiki beamed, affection clear on his face as he went to retrieve his grocery bags from next to the front door.

Yamada and Daiki got to work on the meal, and Yuto retrieved his laptop and textbooks from his bedroom, putting the camera he'd carried all day on its shelf, his collection twinkling down at him, a whole wall of his room devoted to it. He smiled, going back to the kitchen and setting up a station at the dining table. He was nearly finished with his essay, only a few more pages to go, and he was sure he would finish on time. Therefore while he was focused, there was no intense frenzy to get his work done, this allowing him to watch his friends in the kitchen periodically. Yuto always enjoyed observing the two of them together. They would tease each other and make jokes and easy conversation, and the actions in themselves weren't anything that were special at face value. Yet the air of complete acceptance and trust, and the pure _love_ that always seemed to emerge whenever they interacted always brought out a strange mix of emotions in Yuto's chest, a physical ache manifesting inside of him as he watched them cook, standing side by side in the kitchen; bodies brushing comfortably as they moved around each other, their voices light and unrestrained.

Watching Yamada and Daiki always made Yuto intensely happy, and—in the same moment—very sad. He thought it was amazing that Yamada and Daiki were so able to be completely open with each other. He thought it was wonderful how well they understood each other, and being a witness to their love made him hopeful, because perhaps one day he too could find someone that completed him the way they completed each other. Yet he knew that if he was to remain loyal to his family, then he would never get the chance to find his completing piece. He would remember that he could never have a happiness like theirs, because he was to marry a complete stranger, and even if he found his soulmate, he was not able to be with them. He yearned for a presence, a _love _in his life like the one Yamada had found in Daiki, and it physically pained him whenever he remembered that he would not get one. He knew, as he watched Daiki brush a loose strand of hair out of Yamada's eyes and wrap an arm comfortably around Yamada's waist that above all things he wanted _that_. But first he'd need someone to fall in love with.

Eventually Yuto got wrapped up in the paper he was working on, and he was nearly finished when Yamada declared that dinner was ready. Yuto cleared his things off of the table and helps them set out the china, and once the food was set out properly they sit down and eat, the three of them talking and laughing, and Yuto gets swept up into the conversation, enjoying his friends company. He let his long term problems settle into the back of his mind, and the evening was spent in good spirits. Daiki was a fantastic story teller, and he and Yuto loved comparing childhoods, the two of them both fascinated by the other's way of life. Yamada would listen to the stories, and occasionally embellish them or add in his own. They eventually move to the living room, Yamada and Daiki curling around each other on the couch, and they keep talking late into the night.

But eventually Yuto's eyelids began to droop, and he knew he wasn't the only one, Yamada having fallen still, his head on Daiki's chest. It was only once they heard the chime of the elevator announcing Chinen's return from his date that anyone had the realization that perhaps they should just go to their beds. The noise woke Yamada, the young model starting suddenly, and Daiki rubbed his back comfortingly, murmuring warm words to him as the elevator doors opened and Chinen and Takaki came into view. The two were wrapped around each other, lips locked. Yuto blushed in embarrassment, quietly murmuring his good night to the two on the couch and slipping into his room. Within moments of crashing into his bed he was fast asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

When Yuto woke up the next morning he found himself the first one awake, and he peeked into his roommates rooms, finding Chinen curled up in his oversized bed looking for all the world as innocent as he was the day he was born, while Daiki and Yamada were cuddling in Yamada's bed, Daiki in sleepwear Yuto recognized as Yamada's. He took a brisk shower and afterward wandered into the kitchen, resolving to make his friends breakfast. After a few moments of debating between a traditional meal or a more western one he decided on waffles, plugging in their skillet.

It wasn't long before the scent of his cooking gave way to the sounds of his housemates waking, and Yuto heard the shower turn on, Yamada soon after joining him in the kitchen, the smaller man slumping in his seat at the table, his hair still damp, murmuring out a greeting as Yuto supplied him with coffee and a freshly made waffle. The next one awake was Daiki, their guest giving his boyfriend a lingering hug from behind before plopping into his own seat, considerably more awake than Yamada was. It was toward the end of their meal that Chinen showed his face, their youngest companion still in his pajamas, his hair sticking up in places, and they all cooed at how cute he was, making him smile as he bid them a good morning. As Chinen ate the other three sat with him at the table, nursing cups of coffee and talking. After he'd gotten a few bites into his system, Yuto asked

"So how was your date with Takaki?" Chinen swallowed, fingering the engagement ring he was still wearing, the silver band with its encrusted diamonds glinting in the light.

"Wonderful! We went to the _Château de Étoiles,_ where he'd reserved a room for us. The food was amazing, and he is always such a joy to be around. I can't wait to go out with him again." As he spoke Chinen's eyes glossed over a bit, his fork stilling in his hand. Yamada blinked in confusion.

"I thought you told me the other day that you have another date this afternoon? You're going shopping or something, aren't you?" Chinen looked at him in confusion for a moment, before realization swept over his face.

"Oh! Yes. I'm going shopping later with Ryu. We're going to get his ear pierced, and then we're getting clothes and some new manga, and he apparently knows this amazing place to eat gyoza..." Chinen trailed off, shoving another bite of waffle into his mouth, and the conversation continued until he was finished with his breakfast.

It wasn't long after the meal was finished that Daiki had to go, the older man wishing them all fond farewells and passing around hugs before he left, murmured _I love you.'_s shared between him and his boyfriend, and they were just about to go their separate ways and start the day when they got a phone call, the penthouse phone trilling shrilly. Yamada answered it.

"Hello?" A small pause. "Oh Yabu-kun! Yes, it's always wonderful to hear from you." Yuto blinked, curious as to what the phone call was about. Yabu Kota was a literal entrepreneurial powerhouse. Only a few years older than Yuto himself, the man had taken over his family's company a little over three years ago, and—with the help of his husband—it had only gone up. Yabu owned the hotel that Yuto and his friends were currently living in, and he and Hikaru had very graciously let them use the space for free. Yuto and his friends were extremely grateful for their hospitality, and to top it off they all really did like Yabu and Hikaru, though they didn't get to see them often, the power couple extremely busy. Despite being so busy, sometimes said friends would call and check up on the three of them; make sure everything at the hotel was running smoothly, and—if they were lucky—announce that they were in town and ask if they could all get together. This call seemed to hold in it the promise of a meeting, Yuto's thoughts confirmed when Yamada hung up the phone and said

"Apparently Hikaru and Yabu-kun have a _work thing_ and will be in town. They're coming over for dinner tonight." Yuto smiled, nodding enthusiastically. Chinen however, pouted.

"I've already promised Saya that I'd visit her and Inoo-chan for dinner tonight! I can't believe I'm going to miss it!" Saya was Chinen's older sister, a beautiful petite girl, she was sharp as a tack, and Chinen was extremely fond of her. She had recently married Inoo Kei, the son of an internationally famous artist, a man nearly as pretty as herself. Inoo and Saya were the second couple of their generation to go through with the arranged marriage set up by their parents, and Yuto couldn't help but wonder how the two of them—having barely known each other beforehand—felt about it. Yuto had only met Inoo a few times, at charity dinners and the like, and they hadn't ever really talked, but Inoo seemed friendly, and Chinen liked him.

Yuto decided that he had to get Yabu and Hikaru gifts before they arrived for dinner that night, changing into proper clothing and selecting a camera from his collection to accompany him on his journey, just in case he saw something worth photographing. He left with Chinen, the tiny young man getting into a limo that was waiting for him in front of the hotel, offering to drop Yuto off before picking up Ryu. Yuto gratefully accepted, and it wasn't long before he found himself wandering the streets, looking into shop windows and wondering just what to get his friends. It had been an extremely long time since he'd seen either of them, so something a bit more lavish than the usual opera concert tickets and silk ties would be in order. He was at a loss, having looked for over an hour before his eyes caught on a store front, and he smiled in delight. It was a music store, electric guitars glistening in the front window. Both Yabu and Hikaru could play guitar, his friends having picked up the hobby together as kids. Perfect.

He wandered in, smiling at the man behind the counter. For a while he browsed the shop, occasionally snapping pictures of the instruments, their brass bodies glinting in the light. Eventually he found the corner of the store dedicated to guitars, and he focused on finding the perfect instruments for his friends. He was completely focused on a wall of the stringed instruments, his camera raised to capture a photograph when he took a step to his right and ran into something solid, stumbling hard to catch himself. He lowered his camera, blinking in surprise and looking over to see that he had run into a young man, the guy having fallen to the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" The man said at once, pulling himself to his feet and snatching a packet he'd dropped in their collision from the floor. Yuto just blinked for a moment, taken completely by surprise. The guy was obviously a bit upset, his eyes wide with surprise and a genuine apology, his cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment. He was handsome, his lips full and his jawline strong; yet his voice was soft, his Japanese rather clumsy and tinted with an accent, as if he wasn't a native speaker. As Yuto tried to gather his wits the man continued to apologize, saying "Are you okay? Your camera...is it damaged?"

"No! No, the camera is fine! Don't apologize; I was the one that ran into you. I should have paid more attention to where I was going." The man was looking at him, concerned and obviously still not at ease, and Yuto smiled, holding out the camera for the guy to see. "Look, it's really fine. Don't worry." The man glanced down at the device, and then back at Yuto, nodding slowly, his face getting more red.

"Sorry." Was all the man said before continuing past Yuto, off to pay for whatever he had in that packet of his. Yuto couldn't help but watch him go, letting his eyes rake appreciatively over the handsome stranger's muscular figure a bit. The man really was very attractive, if a bit awkward. Once he'd gone out of sight Yuto sighed a bit to himself, returning to his search for the perfect guitars for his friends.

He managed to find a matching set, two beautiful electric guitars, black with mirrored golden inlays in their bodies. They were works of art, and Yuto immediately took to them, knowing that they would be perfect for Hikaru and Yabu. The shopkeeper seemed to be almost in awe when Yuto told him that he wanted both of the guitars, asking the young man just how he intended on paying for it. Yuto just smiled, handing over his credit card and waiting patiently while the cashier rang him up. The guitars came with cases, and the shopkeeper threw in two sets of strings as a bonus; Yuto had bought the most expensive items in his shop.

Yuto called for a taxi, not keen on carrying such large items back home, and soon the guitars were set up in the living room, waiting for their new owners to arrive. Yamada had already informed the hotel staff that Yabu and Hikaru would be popping by for a visit, and everything was being cleaned, the kitchen preparing a meal for the four of them. Yamada and Yuto spent a good deal of their afternoon tidying up their home, wanting to present a good image for their landlords. Yamada was rather amazed by the guitars, muttering slightly about _frivolous rich people;_ but his words had no scorn in them, and when Yuto asked he agreed that Hikaru and Yabu would love them.

Finally, around six o'clock there was a chime announcing that the elevator had arrived at their level, the gilded doors pulling open to reveal their guests.

"Yuto!" The taller of the two greeted, his smile engulfing his eyes as he stepped inside and wrapped his arms around Yuto's shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. Yuto hugged him back, squeezing tightly, a grin blooming on his lips.

"Don't strangle him Kota." Hikaru said, the muscular, younger man slipping off his shoes politely. Yabu let his grip go slack, turning his attention to Yamada, and Yuto leaned into Hikaru, giving the older man a quick hug before welcoming the two of them further into their home, pleased to see just how happy and healthy they looked. The four of them all sat in the front room, and after the guitars had been given—much to Hikaru and Yabu's amazement and delight—and thanks had been said, Yamada and Yuto asked eagerly about how their international travel had been, fishing for exciting stories; and they were not disappointed, Hikaru telling them an astounding tale about a French man with a pet tiger, Yabu teasing him throughout, his inserts never failing to make Yuto laugh.

Yabu and Hikaru were the epitome of perfection in Yuto's eyes. The two young men had been friends since childhood, and although their marriage had been arranged, they were so in love that it would have happened regardless. Hikaru had easily taken Yabu's family name, and the two of them worked seamlessly as a team, traveling the world together and expanding their business. Yabu and Hikaru had managed to do everything right _and_ still achieve happiness. Yuto was proud to call them his friends, and he emulated them—although he wasn't too keen on being stuck on a balcony with a tiger the way Hikaru apparently had been.

Yabu was in the middle of a story about meeting some Icelandic boy band while in Germany when the elevator chimed and this time a hotel worker stepped in, bowing politely and offering them a tray of appetizers, which was placed on the coffee table. Hikaru immediately lunged for it, sighing as the food passed his lips.

"We had a meeting run over earlier and he didn't eat lunch." Yabu explained, affection in his eyes as Hikaru stuffed more food in his face. Luckily for Hikaru, the main course arrived quickly, the four of them moving to the dining table as the conversation turned from Yabu and Hikaru and focused on Yuto and Yamada, and what they'd been up to since the group had all seen each other. At first Yamada told their friends about multiple fashion show disasters, and he informed them when they asked that _yes_ he was still seeing Daiki, and _yes_ it was going very well. He blushed when asked about his boyfriend, but a smile bloomed on his face, and Yuto cooed, grinning at his friend.

"What about you Yuto; have you even _met_ that fiancé of yours yet?" Yabu's question was met with a slightly disturbed face scrunch on Yuto's end.

"No!" Hikaru chuckled, swallowing his bite and saying

"You've got to do it sooner or later. It might not be that bad, you know." Yabu nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, they could be lovely! I mean, the arranged marriage may work out just fine. Look at us!"

"You two are the exception. You already knew each other, and you'd had plenty of time to fall in love before you had to get married. Besides—" He smirked, quirking one eyebrow up playfully. "—I'm to be marrying the heir to Nishi hotels. Aren't they your main competitor or something? Do you want me fraternizing with the enemy?" Yamada and Yabu chuckled, but Hikaru frowned, thinking.

"Nishi...do they have a kid?" He turned to Yabu. "Have we ever met the Nishi corporation's next-in-line Kota?" Yabu blinked for a moment, he too racking his brain for a memory of Yuto's fiancé, while Yuto and Yamada shared curious looks. Yuto had never come across anyone that had met the person he was supposed to marry. It would be interesting to learn a bit about them. But to his disappointment Yabu frowned, shaking his head.

"Never. I didn't know they had any children. It's probably just the one, but they've never talked about any kids at any of the meetings or dinners, and they certainly don't bring anyone with them." Hikaru wiggled his eyebrows at Yuto from across the table, a jokingly over exaggerated smirk on his face.

"Suspicious. Very mysterious." He said, and Yuto couldn't help but laugh, snatching up his camera and taking a picture of his friend's silly expression. After that the conversation moved on into what classes Yuto was taking at school, and how Chinen was; Yabu and Hikaru both seemed to he very concerned about their little friend, the couple aware of his polyamory, and they—like Yamada and Yuto—knew it couldn't last forever. As they talked the meal was traded for dessert, and then afterwards Yuto offered them drinks, but they declined, apparently having an early business meeting they needed to be fully sober for in the morning.

It was barely past nine o'clock when Yabu and Hikaru announced that they really should be going, the two of them thanking Yamada and Yuto for their hospitality, and promising that they would be in touch as soon as possible. Hugs were shared, smiles were exchanged, and soon Yabu and Hikaru were encased in the elevator and out of sight. Yuto sighed, flopping on the couch. It was nice to see his friends, but hosting always left him tired, and he yawned, Yamada laughing at him and joining him in the living room.

"Want to watch a movie?" The shorter man asked, Yuto nodding enthusiastically and saying

"I'll call for popcorn." Within ten minutes they had chosen their motion picture for the evening—some detective high school drama—and the popcorn had arrived. Yuto leaned into Yamada's side, a smile on his face. Today had been a pretty good day.


	3. Chapter 3

Yuto's good mood persisted for another two weeks or so before he received a phone call from his father. He'd been in the middle of a business assignment when his phone had gone off, and he hadn't been able to stave off the budding dread in his chest when he had looked at the caller ID and seen who it was. He knew whatever his father wanted to talk to him about, he didn't want to hear, but it had been a while since he'd talked to his parents, and he didn't want to be rude, so he answered. At first it was wonderful; he did genuinely miss his family, and the occasional text from Raiya just wasn't enough sometimes. They spent the first twenty minutes or so catching up—it was what came after that Yuto had been dreading. The proposition. It always changed, but it was always awful, most of Yuto's phone calls with his parents ending in emotional distress. This one was no exception.

This time they wanted him to move back home, leave school, and take a managerial position in his father's company in preparation for his impending succession. Yuto bit his tongue, letting his dad finish before refusing point blank to do it. He didn't have much left in the way of school, and he was determined that he would get his degree. It didn't take long for it to escalate into shouting, unfortunately. Neither of them wanted to back down, and so for nearly twenty minutes they argued about it, Yuto eventually falling back on the phrase _'you can't make me',_ which made him feel extremely immature. As they argued their voices got higher in pitch as the two men became more distressed, Yuto eventually simply hanging up on his father right before the tears started falling, rolling down his cheeks as he cried loudly.

It wasn't long before Yamada peeked in, the older man coming and sitting next to Yuto on the bed, letting Yuto throw his arms around his shoulders and murmuring

"Was it your family?" Yuto nodded into Yamada's neck. "Did something bad happen? Is someone hurt?" It took Yuto a moment to find his voice again.

"No." His already naturally husky tone had a rough watery edge to it that just made him want to cry more. "It's a stupid thing. My dad, you know—the usual type of stuff." He felt Yamada nod in understanding, and Yuto gulped, trying to get his tears under control. After a few moments Yamada asked another question.

"Did you agree to anything new?" Yuto pulled away to look at his friend.

"No!" Yamada nodded, face serious.

"Okay." Gently Yamada brushed Yuto's tears away with his thumbs, and Yuto swallowed, taking a deep breath, feeling himself beginning to calm down, his mind still weighed down by the harsh words that had been flung sharply between himself and his father. Yamada smiled sympathetically at him, his best friend's hand warm on his shoulder. Yuto tried to smile back, glancing into his lap when he realized that his attempt had his lips twisting into a strangled grimace. "Hey—" Yuto looked back up at the brown haired man. "—everything's going to be okay; you know that, right?" Yuto nodded in thanks, knowing that the words weren't necessarily true, but appreciating that Yamada was trying to cheer him up.

"I'm going to go on a walk." He declared, getting to his feet. "I'll feel better afterwards." Yamada nodded, Yuto giving his friend a weak smile and heading for the elevator, slipping on his shoes by the elevator doors as he waited for it to arrive. The doors had just slid open when Yamada called out to him, hurrying over.

"Wait!" Yuto blinked in surprise, Yamada coming to a halt and placing something in Yuto's hands. He glanced down. It was a camera, one of Yuto's favorites for taking pictures outside in the daylight. He felt gratitude welling in his chest, pushing aside some of the blanketing distress, as Yamada said "Just in case."

"Thank you." Yuto wrapped the neck strap around his forearm, clutching the camera tightly, and with a quick wave to Yamada he was off, exiting the hotel and taking a right, sighing to himself as he walked, his long legs carrying him quickly away from the hotel. As he walked he tried to push the argument with his father from his mind, and he busied himself with his camera, taking candid photos of the people out going about their day. He'd set off on a familiar route, down to the closest shopping area, figuring he'd buy Yamada some chocolate as a thanks for his moral support, and as a result he wasn't really thinking about where he was going, becoming completely immersed in his photography. By the time he had made it to the grocery store he'd managed to calm down significantly, and he was almost halfway home, his shopping slung from one wrist, when he tried to set up a picture, and he noticed a familiar face in the shot.

He immediately lowered his camera, mouth hanging open a bit in surprise, as the handsome man from the music store looked up from his phone, their eyes locking from across the street. The guy blushed a bit, waving tentatively, and Yuto found himself waving back, smiling as—to his surprise—music store guy crossed the street to stand in front of him. There was a pause, the two of them just looking at each other, matching expressions of awkward, nearly contained excitement on their faces, before the other man held out a hand as if to shake, blushed, withdrew the hand, and bowed instead, saying

"I—sorry. I'm Keito. Okamoto Keito." He raised his head. "I'm um...from the music store. We ran into each other." Yuto found himself smiling, and he nodded, saying honestly

"I remember you." He followed his assurance with an introduction of his own, and the other man's smile grew wider at Yuto's words. "It's an amazing coincidence that we've managed to run into each other again, isn't it? I walk this way—" He gestured, his motion sweeping along the route he was taking. "—often, but I've never seen you here before."

"I, um, I just moved back to Japan a few weeks ago, so...you wouldn't have been able to see me before."

"Where did you live before?"

"Oh...England. I was going to school there." Yuto blinked, instantly curious as to this handsome man's life. He was attractive, soft spoken, _and_ interesting, and Yuto had run into him twice now. It was as if fate wanted him to know the guy, he decided, using that as an excuse to take to opportunity to say

"That's cool!" There was a pause, Yuto debating how straightforward he wanted to be, before deciding to just go for it and ask. "Are you free? I know a great place for coffee; we could sit and talk there, instead of standing out here on the sidewalk. My treat!" To his pleasure Okamoto Keito nodded, and as the other man fell into step next to Yuto, he felt his stomach do a little flip, his heart squeezing a bit, as Yuto directed the two of them to a less busy part of town, asking questions about England the whole way. Yuto himself had visited the country a few times while on vacation with his family, but he'd never lived anywhere outside of Japan before, and so it was easy to ask lots of questions.

Okamoto answered the inquiries shorty as they passed through the streets, but once they'd reached the coffee shop, and weren't in a hurry to get anywhere, Yuto found that he had to fish for information less and less, Okamoto becoming more relaxed as they settled into their booth, their coffees resting on the tabletop in front of them. Yuto's curiosity seemed to be encouraging him to talk, and he was obviously trying hard to give the most accurate answers he could; yet he often stumbled over his words, and the more comfortable he got, the more English words mixed into his Japanese. It was cute, Yuto thought, when the other man would slip into English, and then realize that he was no longer speaking Japanese, and blush, apologizing.

That wasn't to say that Okamoto was doing all of the talking. He was very careful in asking Yuto just as many questions as Yuto asked him. It was in this passing of questions that they eventually fell into a naturally flowing conversation, discussing the various culture differences between the Japanese and the English, eventually evolving to music, and the effect of pets on their owners. As they talked Yuto found himself completely enthralled in the other man. Keito's strong appearance was at a complete juxtaposition with his soft, unassuming voice, and it was something Yuto found that he really liked, and he found himself raising his camera, taking pictures of the other man as they talked.

They talked until their coffees went cold, Yuto having long forgotten the argument he'd had with his father, instead warm and happy; Okamoto Keito someone Yuto immediately took to, and liked. It was surprising just how much disappointment he felt when the other man announced that he had to be going, thanking Yuto politely for the coffee and getting to his feet. Yuto didn't want just a few pictures to remember Okamoto Keito by, and he too stood, stopping the man with a hand on his shoulder.

"Can we exchange numbers?" Keito blinked, surprise clear on his features, and Yuto felt himself blushing, but he didn't want to miss this opportunity. "I just..." He felt himself faltering. "This was fun." Now Okamoto's face was red too, but he was smiling, and he nodded, pulling his phone from his left front pocket and handing it over to Yuto. He entered his number quickly, under his first name, and when Okamoto saw the entry his blinked in surprise, saying quietly

"Yuto?"

"You can just call me Yuto!" Yuto said, and after a pause, Okamoto Keito said

"Then, you should also call me Keito, Yuto-kun." Yuto nodded, a smile blooming on his lips, and he waved cheerily as Keito left, an immense sense of anticipation for the future filling his body, ballooning up inside of him, and he couldn't wait to tell Yamada and Chinen all about his chance encounter with the handsome man from the music store. The first words out of his mouth, in fact, when he got home, were

"So I met someone while I was out." Yamada, who had been trying to convince Chinen to help him cook, the younger man seated indignantly on the countertop, whirled around at the sound of Yuto's voice, frowning, concern in his eyes.

"Where the hell have you been you idiot? You've been gone for hours!" Yuto wasn't expecting the reprimanding harshness in Yamada's tone, and he blinked in surprise, slipping off his shoes haphazardly and handing Yamada the shopping bag with the chocolates in it.

"What're you so angry for? I wasn't gone for that—" his eyes caught on the clock. He'd been gone for over three hours. Oh. He felt a blush growing on his cheeks in embarrassment. "I got those for you." He amended, gesturing to the bag.

"That doesn't matter—oh, thank you—you imbecile! We thought you'd thrown yourself off a bridge or were mugged or lost or something." Yamada had calmed down a bit, the words coming out less harsh and more exasperated. Chinen hopped down from his place on the counter, snagging the chocolates from the plastic bag and opening up the box, helping himself, a smile on his face.

"I was just at a coffee shop. That one with the rose colored seats." Yuto explained, still trying to do some damage control.

"Wait." Chinen interjected, a chocolate in his hand. Yamada snatched the box away from the younger man, and Chinen rolled his eyes pointedly before continuing. "You said you'd met someone, and now you're saying you were at your favorite coffee shop. Did you meet someone...like _someone?" _Both of his friends were looking at him now, their eyes wide, curious and serious.

"What? What, no!" Yuto scoffed, sitting down at their table next to Chinen. "I mean, we got along really great, and he was really fun to talk to, but he didn't make any moves on me or anything. Besides, Keito—"

"So it's a he, and he's named Keito." Chinen teased, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Yuto sighed, unwrapping the strap of his camera from around his forearm and setting it down on the tabletop in front of him.

"Did you get any pictures of him, Yuto? I wanna see this new _friend_ of yours." Yuto smiled gratefully up at Yamada for not insinuating anything, the way Chinen was insisting on doing, and he nodded, turning his camera on and flicking through the photographs he'd taken throughout their conversation until he found one he really liked. He handed the camera over to Yamada, Chinen craning his neck to peer at the little device's screen. Chinen nodded in a wishy-washy sort of way, his head tilting back and forth.

"He's kinda hot." Yuto raised an eyebrow at the younger man.

"That—that wasn't the point." It was at that moment that his phone went off, a little noise announcing that he had a new text. Yuto dug into his pocket, and when he saw the name on the screen he couldn't help but grin.

"Who is it?" Chinen pressed, as Yamada handed Yuto back his camera. Yuto set the camera back down, opening the message.

"It's Keito." Chinen oohed. "He just wants to know if I made it home safely; calm down." Yuto told his friend.

"Sure." Chinen said, standing daintily. "For now." Yamada rolled his eyes, grabbing the tiny man by the shoulder.

"Don't think you can escape helping me make dinner. C'mon." Yuto laughed, quickly typing out a response to Keito and getting to his feet to help join in the dinner preparations.

In the weeks to come Yuto found himself texting Keito frequently. They sent messages back and forth every day, asking about how the other one was and sharing little pieces of their lives in their messages. It was a lot more fun than Yuto had thought it would be. Yuto grew to like Keito more the more they talked. Keito was sweet, sincere, and although he didn't understand half of Yuto's jokes, he always was so enthusiastic that it more than made up for it. He did an amazing job of remembering the little things Yuto told him. Things like what university Yuto went to, and his roommates names, and that Yamada was a model. Yuto had never met a more genuine person in his life, and it was something he found not only refreshing, but positively stunning. He found himself reaching for his phone whenever anything even remotely noteworthy happened in his life, eager to tell the other man.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a little over a month since he'd met Keito when Yuto got the mail from the front desk on his way up to the penthouse and he pulled out three identical embossed envelopes, one for him and each of his roommates. Curious, he called out to his housemates as soon as he got home.

"Hey!" Yamada and Chinen both had their boyfriends over, Chinen watching as Yamada and Ryutaro duked it out on the Playstation 4, Daiki sitting nearby, a textbook in his lap. They all waved or made small noises of welcome, Yuto slipping off his shoes and plopping his school bag down by the couch, flashing the envelopes as he asked "Do you guys know what this is all about?" Both Daiki and Chinen shrugged, Yuto handing Chinen the envelope with his name on it, the tiny man sitting up from where he'd sprawled out across their couch to take it, looking curiously at it. Yamada didn't acknowledge that Yuto had said anything, his eyes focused on their television, fingers fast on his controller. Yuto joined Chinen on the couch as the smaller man ripped his envelope open, pulling out a gilded page and reading aloud

"Dear esteemed guest, you have been invited to attend this year's summer showcase for the Nakajima fashion line..." He trailed off, reading the rest to himself. Yuto blinked in surprise, tearing into his own envelope. Sure enough, he too had been invited to his mother's fashion show. There was one detail Chinen hadn't mentioned though.

"Yama-chan, why are you on my invitation?" Yuto asked, as on the TV screen Yamada's character died, the small man cursing and tossing his controller onto the carpet. Daiki looked up from his textbook at once, the older man's eyes shining with curiosity. Yamada, turned to look at him, confused.

"What?" Yuto showed him the page. In the image Yamada had heavy gold eyeliner on, and he was wrapped in lush reds and golds. He looked imperial, and he was lain out on a white couch, his image framing the header of the invitation. Yamada stared at it for a moment, taking in his own visage, a blush growing on his cheeks, before mumbling "I'm...well, I'm the cover model for the show. I'm kinda the top act."

"He's on my ticket too!" Chinen exclaimed, pulling out said ticket from his envelope. This one was just of Yamada's face, and it kept with the imperial style, Yamada staring seductively from the ticket's glossy surface.

"Yama-chan, that's amazing!" Yuto declared, Daiki reaching out to see the page, wanting get a good look at the pictures of his boyfriend. While Daiki ogled the pictures, Yamada ripped into his own envelope, extracting a letter and two tickets, smiling as he read.

"I can have two guests come to see me." He said, Daiki handing Yuto back his invitation and eagerly turning to the younger man. Yamada's grin grew when he saw the look on Daiki's face, and he extended his arm, holding out one of the tickets. "Will you come, Dai-chan?" Daiki's grin lit up his whole face, obviously extremely enthusiastic as he nodded, Yamada passing him a ticket. Yuto stood, laying the invitation and ticket out on his kitchen table, and taking a picture with his phone's camera, sending it to Keito immediately. Chinen hopped up from his place on the couch, and when he caught sight of what Yuto was doing, he said

"Oh, are you telling your man, Yuto?" Yuto barely looked up from his phone, typing out a message as he said

"He's not _my man,_ Chinen. But yes, I'm telling Keito." He turned his attention back down to his screen when he heard his text tone, Keito having responded to the photograph at once, enthusiastically exclaiming his excitement for Yuto and Yamada. Yuto smiled, sending Keito back a quick thanks as Chinen said

"I wonder who else is going. I mean, if your mom's inviting me, then the rest of my family are definitely going. And Hika and Kota." Yuto shrugged. He hadn't heard anything from his family about the show at all. There was some speculation, Takaki's name avoided until Ryutaro left for the evening, and Yuto texted his brother, telling him he couldn't wait to go to the fashion show, Raiya responding enthusiastically, excited to see him. Yuto felt a pang of sadness, as he read Raiya's message; he missed his little brother.

That night after Yuto got into the shower he got another text from Keito, this one a casual greeting, and Yuto smiled, quickly texting back. They talked for over an hour, Yuto in the process of detailing to Keito just how amazing his little brother was when he fell asleep, phone still in his hand. He woke up to see that Keito had bid him good night a little over an hour after he'd stopped responding, and he felt embarrassed for falling asleep on his friend, texting him an apology and wishing him a good morning. Keito didn't respond right away, but it was early. Perhaps he wasn't awake yet. But then Keito didn't respond to him all day.

The lack of contact left Yuto feeling a little bit empty. He hadn't been talking with Keito for very long, but he'd already integrated the older man into his life, Keito's texts something he enjoyed. He sent a couple more messages throughout the course of the day, but those too went unanswered. He wondered if he'd made Keito angry, falling asleep in the middle of their conversation like he had, but honestly Keito didn't seem like the type to anger easily. He was rather disheartened when that evening he found himself working on his statistics paper after dinner, and was still without contact.

It was then however, that his phone lit up, jumping to life, his display informing him of an incoming call. He jumped in surprise, answering before he even looked at the screen properly. Who could be calling him at this hour? His parents? Maybe it was Raiya.

"Hello?" There was a small silence, before a voice he hadn't heard in weeks said tentatively

"Yuto?" Yuto blinked in surprise, the voice—while instantly familiar, not one he'd been expecting to hear—and he asked just as tentatively

"Keito?"

"Hi." Keito said, and Yuto could feel a smile blooming on his face, and he discarded his homework immediately, leaning back in his desk chair. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Do you have time to talk?" Keito still sounded a bit nervous, and Yuto quickly assured the other man that he wasn't interrupting anything, telling him

"I'm just surprised to hear your voice. It's a nice surprise."

"I just...I dropped my phone off of my balcony this morning and it broke, and so I haven't been replying to your messages. I just got my new one, and I didn't want you to think..." He trailed off, sounding apologetic, and Yuto hastened to console him.

"No! I'm so glad you called. I kinda missed you today." He admitted. There was a small silence, before Keito said

"Well...since we haven't talked yet today, and you're not busy, will you tell me about your day, Yuto? I missed you too." Yuto felt a little happy flip in his chest, his smile growing on his lips.

"Sure." He said. "But you tell me about yours first." There was a pause, Keito obviously thinking, before the other man announced

"I saw a poster for the Nakajima Summer Showcase today. I was thinking that the man on the front was your friend, Yamada-san." Yuto sat up a little, curious. He hadn't seen any of the posters yet.

"What did he look like?"

"Um...he had brown hair, and he was very pretty. He had muscled arms, and gold eye makeup. He was draped in red silk."

"That sounds like Yama-chan." Yuto conceded. He frowned a little at hearing Keito call Yamada pretty, not quite sure what to think about the slight pang of jealousy it put in his stomach, but those feelings were quickly erased when Keito asked

"Are you walking in the show? You'd make a good model." Yuto giggled.

"Me? No. They wouldn't have me do it."

"Well, despite that opportunity going to waste I'm sure it's going to be a success." Keito said. Yuto agreeing with him, getting out of his chair and splaying himself out on his bed in a more comfortable position, as he coaxed Keito into telling him more about his day. They passed questions back and forth for a bit, much like their time at the cafe, but it quickly evolved into more natural conversation, and they ended up talking late into the night, Yuto eventually bidding his friend good night when Keito—once again sounding rather apologetic—said that he had an early morning class at university, and that he really had to be getting to sleep. By that point Yuto too was tired, and he decided to leave his paper for another night, taking a quick shower and falling into his bed, content.

When he woke up the following morning, he checked his phone to see that Keito had already sent him a morning text, the words putting a smile on Yuto's face. They fell back into their usual routine of texting back and forth throughout the day, but after Yuto'd finished his essay, he found himself calling Keito regardless. He'd really liked talking with the older man, liked the way Keito thought about the world, liked the way Keito's deep voice had sounded pressed up against his ear, his accent making the plain words rolling off of his tongue sound somehow better. He didn't tell Keito all of this, when the other man asked in surprise what had brought on the call, instead just saying

"I like talking to you." Keito accepted that reasoning easily, and in the days to come Yuto spent every night before bed talking with Keito. It became natural to curl up under his sheets, his phone pressed between his pillow and his ear. He spent more and more time talking with Keito, thinking about Keito, a warm affection bubbling up in his chest whenever his phone-friend was mentioned. Keito just made him so _happy_. The way Keito made him feel wasn't a secret, and one evening Yamada caught him smiling down at his phone, the older man asking

"Is it him?" Yuto nodded.

"Keito went shopping today, he's sending me pictures of himself in the clothes he bought." He showed Yamada the photograph. "Look at how red his face is! I had to coax him into doing it. He's so shy, it's cute." Yamada pursed his lips, barely looking at the picture Yuto showed him, and he crossed his arms as he said

"Yuto...I'm worried about you." Yuto blinked in surprise, the concern in his friend's tone pulling his attention completely away from his phone.

"What? Why?" Yamada sighed.

"It's just that...you really seem to like this guy, and I want to be happy for you, but Yuto...you can't fall in love, remember? Regardless of if you're ignoring the individual or not, you do have a fiancé, and I just...I want you to be happy, and if this Keito guy is what makes you happy, then that's fantastic, but I want to make sure you understand just at what cost. I don't want you to make any decisions you're going to regret. I don't want to see you in Chinen's position." He was looking at Yuto with worry in his eyes, and Yuto could feel a churning unease in his stomach.

He hadn't really allowed himself to consider that he could potentially be falling in love with Keito, choosing to pretend that the warm tingles he felt whenever he heard the older man chuckle didn't mean anything special. He agreed with Yamada—he didn't want to end up in Chinen's position. And so he told Yamada not to worry, trying to assure his friend that he had everything under control, that Yamada's fears were unfounded. That Keito wasn't something Yamada needed to be so concerned about. But in the back of his mind, he knew that Yamada's concerns were far from unfounded, that he was developing feelings for Keito that were more than that of a platonic friendship, and it put a little ball of anxiety in his chest.

Meanwhile, Yuto's mother's fashion show was fast approaching. Yamada was busier than ever, working long days and coming home late every night. Sometimes he didn't even come home, instead crashing at Daiki's apartment, if he was really tired, as it was closer to the venue than the hotel. Yamada was extremely excited about it though, the only one perhaps even more excited than him his boyfriend, Daiki practically vibrating with energy whenever the subject was brought up. He'd apparently even gone out and bought a special outfit himself for the event, telling his university friends all about how he was going to see his future husband's fashion show. Apparently none of his friends actually believed that Daiki was dating a super model, much to Daiki's chagrin. Yamada, when he heard Daiki recount the tale, just giggled, a blush decorating his cheeks.

Yuto was very conflicted about the whole fashion show. He was excited for Yamada, and he was looking forward to getting to see Raiya, and the actual event was bound to be a good time. He hadn't seen his parents in quite a while, and he wished he could just look forward to getting to spend some time with his family, yet every meeting always seemed to end in strife, and he was dreading the forced conversations and the suffocating attempts at persuasion and the guilt he always felt after the fighting.


	5. Chapter 5

Regardless of how Yuto felt about the whole thing, soon the day of the fashion show was upon them. Yuto didn't manage to catch Yamada in the morning to wish him good luck, the older man out the door before he was even awake. The show itself wasn't until the early evening, so Yuto decided to work around the house a bit, making a lavish breakfast for himself and Chinen; the tiny young man not actually getting out of bed until nearly twelve o'clock, emerging from his room just as Daiki showed up, the older man announcing enthusiastically that he _'just couldn't wait'_ as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.

Once it was late enough to start getting ready they all prepared themselves individually, Yuto dressing in what he knew to be one of his mother's favorite creations. One of the perks of having a fashion designer as a mother was that she sometimes designed outfits with him in mind, and this one—a navy blue suit made from some shimmery material trimmed to fit him perfectly with pants that accentuated his long, thin legs and a cream colored silk shirt that fell in waves from a tight collar around his neck—was one of those pieces. He snapped a quick picture of himself in the mirror, trying to do something with his hair as he typed out a quick message to Keito, sending the picture and trying to hold back the anxious buzzing he felt in his stomach. He was nervous.

But his slight dread only seemed to make the minutes tick by faster, and soon it was time to go, Chinen announcing that he had a limo waiting for them at the front of the hotel. Daiki didn't seem to know what to make of that statement, just following along behind the two of them, gaping, his eyes wide when they exited the hotel to see the limousine waiting, the driver holding open the door for them graciously. The older man froze, and Yuto turned back to him and smiled at Daiki's reaction, saying lightly

"Are you coming, Dai-chan?" Still looking rather shocked, Daiki nodded, climbing into the car.

"Why are we taking a limo?" He asked, as they pulled away from the hotel. Yuto shrugged.

"Chinen likes them. He takes them just about everywhere." Chinen nodded, smiling as he splayed himself out along one of the benches. "Don't rumple your clothes." Yuto scolded his petite friend lightly, as his phone went off in his jacket pocket. He pulled it out, checking the new message he'd received. It was Keito, complimenting him on his outfit and telling him to have a fun evening. The words calmed his nerves a bit as they made their way to the venue. Keito didn't know about his rather strained relationship with his parents, Yuto not really talking about his family much at all, except for the occasional gushing about his little brother. If Keito noticed Yuto's avoidance of the topic he didn't pry, and it suited Yuto just fine.

Yuto wasn't the only nervous one, Daiki had been chatting with Chinen, but he fell quiet as they pulled up in front of their destination and saw out the window a large mass of men and women, all dressed elegantly.

"What do I do?" He asked, and Chinen beamed, grabbing Daiki by the hand and dragging him out of the car as soon as it came to a stop.

"Just stick with me. It'll be fine. Yuto and I will introduce you to the rest of the group!" Daiki looked even more anxious than before, saying

"There's a group?" Yuto smiled, trying to put aside his own anxieties and reassure his friend.

"Don't worry. It's going to be great. Just keep thinking about Yama-chan." His words put a smile on Daiki's face, the older man lighting up at the thought of his boyfriend. They made their way to the main room, Yuto spotting his brother seated at the other end and waving, Raiya breaking out in a huge smile as he waved back. They didn't get a chance to talk before the show; Yuto had been offered a seat with his family, but he'd declined, telling them that he was escorting Yamada's boyfriend. Now he felt, as he lead Daiki to their seats, the older man sticking close to his side, he'd made the right decision; Daiki needed a familiar face. They had ended up seated next to the Chinen family, Chinen immediately taking the seat closest to his sister, the amazingly petite young woman leaning around the pretty man on her left—her husband Inoo Kei, Yuto realized—smiling and giving the three of them nods of recognition as the lights dimmed.

The show lasted for a little under an hour, models—men and women—gracing the catwalk in his mother's new designs. Red featured prominently this year, Yuto noticed, and all of the designs kept with the imperial theme Yamada's promotional photos had showcased, the makeup on the models rich and exaggerated. Yamada himself modeled countless outfits, his gaze fierce as he sashayed past them. He never made any indication that he'd seen them, but Yuto hadn't expected him to. If Yamada was anything, he was professional. Daiki meanwhile was beaming, his eyes wide, and he seemed entranced by Yamada whenever the younger man came into the spotlight. It was very cute, Yuto thought, as—when Yamada came out wearing nothing but some combat boots, brilliant red hot shorts and a silky, draping white top—Daiki let out a small whine.

Soon however, the show ended, Yuto's mother making an appearance sauntering out onto the catwalk herself, everyone applauding as Yamada presented her with a bouquet of flowers. Yuto smiled, proud of her, glad that the show had been such a success, and as soon as the lights were raised he took Daiki and led him backstage, to where Yamada surely was getting into his own clothes, and where Yuto could find his family. He wasn't disappointed. Yamada was quickly found, the shorter man already in a baggy pair of camo pants and a white tank top, rummaging through his makeup kit in front of a mirror. Yuto congratulated him, barely managing to get the words out before Daiki started gushing, showering Yamada in praises. It was then that Yuto caught sight of his father, and he pointed, not wanting to interrupt Daiki, but still letting Yamada know he was going to go talk with his family before leaving Daiki with his roommate and making his way over to them.

As he got closer he realized that his brother was standing with his dad, and he wondered how he had missed him. Now that Raiya was standing up it was blatantly obvious that he had grown exponentially since Yuto had last seen him, and when he finally got close, and when Raiya ran over to greet him, throwing his arms around Yuto's shoulders, Yuto realized that his little brother was nearly as big as he was. Yuto pulled his brother to him, not letting go for a long time, holding him close as he let himself take Raiya in, an ache in his chest. God, he'd missed him so much. It had been too long since they'd last seen each other. When they finally broke apart, he had to fight back tears as he said

"You've gotten big." Raiya smiled proudly, a slight blush tinting his cheeks as he said

"I've missed you." Yuto slung an arm around Raiya's shoulders, pulling him in close, not quite ready to let go, and he nodded.

"I've missed you too. So much." Raiya noticed the watery edge to his voice, and he chuckled, Yuto loving hearing that laugh. But he didn't tease, just leaning closer into Yuto's side. Their father made his way over, the smaller man smiling warmly at Yuto, pulling him in for a hug, and for a moment they were just family, and there wasn't any tension between the two of them. Yuto wished it could always be like this, and he could tell, when he pulled away and he met his father's gaze, that he did too. It wasn't discussed however, and they barely got out any words of greeting before his mother broke away from the mass of photographers, coming over and drawing their attention. Yuto congratulated her, complimenting the show and commenting on some of the pieces.

She beamed under his praise, obviously pleased with how everything had gone, and for a moment Yuto began to hope that perhaps he could get all the way through this encounter with his parents without any disagreements. He'd barely had time to have the thought however, before his hopes were dashed, his mother turning to him and saying

"We have a special guest here tonight, you know." She gave him a look, the smile on her face becoming a little tense as she said "I invited your fiancé to the show. It would be a great opportunity for the two of you to meet." Yuto felt a chill run through his body, and he pulled away from her, stunned, blindsided by her actions. How could she do this? What made her think this was okay? He hadn't had any idea he was going to be faced with something like this. He had expected a tense conversation about how he was wasting his time in university, or some proposition about moving back home, not a forced meeting with the one person he least wanted to see.

"No." His tone was sharp, but he couldn't find it in himself to soften it. He was angry. She was trying to force him into a situation he did not want to be in. She had planned this, planned to spring this on him in a public setting so he wouldn't have any choice but to do as she wanted. She was trying to manipulate him and bend him to her will. He took a step back, away from his family.

"Come now son, be reasonable." His father said, but the words only proved to rile him up further, Yuto's distress rising, and he backed away from them, shaking his head.

"No. You can't expect me to be okay with this. How could you pull this crap, and think I'd be okay with it?!" He was starting to draw some attention, his words growing louder, but his mother just said cooly

"I asked them to meet us here after the show."

"No. I'm not talking to them." He declared, and wanting nothing more than to _get away_ from the situation, from her. He whirled around, dashing out of the building and into the night. He could feel that his face was hot, red from embarrassment and shame at his outburst. At his _family._ How could she do that to him? Why had they had to ruin tonight? He'd barely even gotten to speak to Raiya, he realized, his heart clenching in his chest. The whole thing was just upsetting, and he could feel the tears working up, and he took big gulping breaths in an attempt to calm down, his eyes scanning his surroundings. There were people milling about, staff working on loading his mother's collection into a van for transportation, overhead lights casting them in a yellow glow, and he realized belatedly that he'd left through a back exit, and was far from where the guests at the event were supposed to be.

"Yuto!" He was startled by a familiar voice. and he turned, surprised to see Hikaru striding over, the older man waving. "I was just about to call you." Hikaru said, once they were close enough to talk comfortably. "Kota and I were getting some of our friends together, we wanted to hang out with you guys while we were in town. He's got everyone else; we were going to head back to our place."

"Everyone else?" Yuto asked, realizing that he himself probably needed to find Daiki, and he furrowed his brow, hoping that at the very least Daiki was still with Yamada. But Hikaru seemed to know exactly what Yuto was thinking, assuring him

"Kota's got Yama-chan, and his boyfriend, as well as Chinen, Yuya, and Inoo." Yuto was surprised to hear Inoo Kei on the list, but relieved that Daiki hadn't been lost, and he nodded, allowing Hikaru to usher him back around to the front of the building where a limousine was waiting to take them to Hikaru and Yabu's home. He stepped inside to find all of his friends already there, Yamada looking very happy, his makeup already removed, his head tucked into the crook of Daiki's neck. Daiki was smiling, obviously happy to be there with his boyfriend, but he seemed relieved to see another familiar face, his eyes locking with Yuto's for a moment. Yuto took a seat in the open space next to Takaki, and soon they were off.

As they pulled away from the venue conversation picked up, Hikaru congratulating Yamada on a job well done. They all congratulated Yamada, making him blush, and Daiki beam with pride. After that however, the conversation turned to their favorite outfits, and Yuto pushed his argument with his parents from his mind, instead trying to focus on the amusing descriptions of his mother's designs, laughing particularly hard when Inoo described an outfit as 'the one with the princess firefighter vibe'. Soon however, they made it through the city and out into a more spacious area, and Yuto caught sight of Hikaru and Yabu's home.

Hikaru and Yabu owned a large mansion surrounded by land, and it served as their home whenever they were in the country. Yuto had been there a few times in the past for parties and other events, but Daiki and Yamada had never been, and as they pulled up he found himself thoroughly enjoying the awed expressions on his friends' faces. The building was impressive even by Yuto's standards. It was grandiose, built in a European style, and it's location on the top of a hill only served to make it more formidable. Yabu led the way inside, pulling open the huge French doors dramatically, a smile on his face. Butlers were waiting for them, and they took their coats before Yabu led to the lounge, where snacks and drinks were already waiting for them. Yamada and Daiki were both gaping open mouthed at the glamour of the house, taking in the high ceilings and the lush carpet in awe.

Everyone sat around on couches and plush chairs, and they fell back into conversation, Hikaru and Yabu making sure everyone was comfortable. Daiki and Yamada both stuck by Yuto's side, and he was surprised to see that Daiki was on edge, his back stiff, eyes wide as he surveyed his surroundings. Yamada—while a bit more comfortable, perhaps due to his friendship with the hosts—seemed to be exhausted, leaning into Daiki's side. And while at first he did try to participate in the conversation, his eyelids began to droop, and he grew quiet. They had barely been there an hour before he was sleeping, curled into Daiki's chest. In that spans of time Daiki himself hadn't really talked much, despite Inoo's attempts to pull him into the conversation. He seemed overwhelmed by the wealth that Hikaru and Yabu obviously possessed, he'd been thrown into a world that was much different from the average university student's Yuto realized, and he turned to the older man, saying quietly

"Dai-chan, are you okay?" All he got in response was a small shrug. It was as he'd suspected. Daiki wasn't comfortable. "How about you take Yama-chan home? He needs to sleep in a proper bed." Yuto offered, and Daiki looked relieved that he was being given an out, nodding. He gently murmured in his boyfriend's ear, pulling him to his feet and announcing their departure. It was accepted easily, everyone agreeing that Yamada was too tired to do much socializing. Hikaru had a car pulled around the front for them, and with many gracious thanks for the hospitality, Yamada and Daiki were gone. Chinen meanwhile, had been sitting in Takaki's lap, the younger man curled into his fiancé's chest as he chatted with Yabu and Inoo. Takaki seemed content to mostly listen to the conversation being had, his arms wrapped comfortably around Chinen's tiny waist, a small smile on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

As they talked and the night got later, Chinen and Takaki ended up sprawled out on the couch fast asleep. Yuto meanwhile, got into a conversation with Inoo. They'd met a few times previously but it had just been polite greetings in formal settings, and Yuto didn't know much at all about the older man aside from basic facts about his family that had circulated when his engagement to Saya had been announced. It was nice to talk to Inoo, and Yuto was surprised to learn that—although he'd never heard of or met Inoo until he'd married Chinen's sister—Inoo had apparently met Hikaru and Yabu in middle school, the three getting along quite well. They had been friends for years, as was shown in the comfortable way Inoo navigated the Yabu family household, leading Yuto to the kitchen for some substantial food and continue their conversation when he heard Yuto's stomach growl, assuring him that it would be fine, and besides, they didn't want to wake the two sleeping on the couch.

The conversation had fallen into a bit of a lull, Inoo having finished an amusing story about his bad mouthed little sister, Yuto chuckling as he finished his last bite of rice, setting his chopsticks down. He was about to continue with the theme of sibling stories and tell Inoo about how one time Raiya had somehow managed to wreck his bicycle into a lake when his family were on vacation in Spain when his phone went off in his pocket. He pulled it out, surprised that he was getting a message, anxious that it was his mother or father commenting on his behavior earlier in the evening. He was relieved and pleased to see that it was not his parents. It was Keito, the other man having sent him a good night message and a picture of himself lying in his bed, his eyes barely open, a small smile on his handsome face. Yuto couldn't help but smile, and he saved the picture to the growing collection he had in his phone.

"Who’s that?" Inoo asked, leaning in to look at Yuto's screen. Yuto showed him the photograph.

"This is Keito." He said, typing back a good night to his friend and sending it before slipping his phone back into his pocket. "He's...well...I met him by chance in a music store, and after a second lucky encounter we got to talking, and exchanged numbers. He's really sweet, and sincere, and..." Yuto trailed off, debating whether he should talk to Inoo about Keito or not. He wanted to get some advice about his situation, wanted to tell someone about his still growing feelings for his phone friend, but he wasn't sure if Inoo would understand. Inoo had gone through with an arranged marriage after all. But Inoo was looking at him seriously, more seriously than he had all evening, and Yuto decided to go for it.

"The thing is...the thing is, I've got a bit of a crush. Well, more than a bit. I like him a lot, but I've got this fiancé that I've never even met, and I don't want to marry them, but the situation with my parents is really bad, and if I don't then I'm afraid I'll be cut off from the family. But I love my family, and I don't want to disappoint them. It's just that—"

"That you want to be happy." Inoo muttered, cutting Yuto off. Yuto blinked at him in surprise.

"Yeah." There was a silence, Inoo seemingly sizing him up, his eyes trailing over Yuto's face.

"Yuto-kun...can I tell you something?" Inoo asked, and his tone was tentative, the light playfulness that had been there all evening gone, his lips pursed nervously. Yuto had known this was a sensitive topic when he'd confessed his feelings about Keito, but he hadn't expected a reaction like this. He wasn't sure what to expect. Still, he nodded. There was a moment of silence, Inoo chewing at his bottom lip, his pretty hands folding in front of him on the kitchen counter, before he finally said, his voice quivering slightly "Yuto-kun, I'm gay." Yuto definitely hadn't been expecting _that._

"I've known since I was a little kid, but I never told anyone...you're the first to know, actually, so if you could keep it to yourself...?" Yuto nodded. Inoo looked at him gratefully, before continuing. "I was afraid of what people would say. Of what my parents would think. So I lied; I've always been good at lying." Inoo smiled, but it was twisted, no happiness in his eyes. "But, just like you, my parents arranged for me to be married, introducing me to Saya-chan. I liked her fine, so I said that I was fine with it. I went through with the marriage, because I wanted to make my parents happy. I would be okay, I thought. I'd never really been in love anyway, so it wasn't like I was missing anything." He sighed.

"As I said, I did like Saya—I still do, she's smart, and kind, and she's been very accepting of me, and understanding of our situation—but I didn't, I _don't_ love her. I'm not remotely attracted to her. Despite my lack of feelings, I still married her. I was a coward. Now I'm stuck married to someone who I can never give the love she deserves. It's been hard on her, hard on the both of us, because of _my_ lack of interest in my wife. She's still trying to be understanding, but she doesn't know why I don't want to kiss her, or hold her. She doesn't know that no matter what she does, she's not going to win me over, and the more time passes the more strained our relationship gets." As he spoke, Inoo's voice began to quiver, his eyes pooling with tears, and he blinked, looking away from Yuto, as a tear escaped and ran down his cheek. He took a deep shuddering breath, before saying seriously

"It's not worth meeting your parents' expectations, Yuto-kun. Especially not if you love someone else. You deserve to be happy, and so does the person you marry." Yuto was stunned by Inoo's confession, frozen for a moment as he processed everything Inoo had told him. Inoo himself was trying to fight back his tears, and Yuto reached out, rubbing small circles on the older man's back, the way Yamada did for him when he was upset. He was searching for words of comfort, not sure what to say, but wanting to do something to help, when a familiar voice said

"Inoo-chan! This is where you two went! We've been looking for you." Yuto glanced up, surprised. It was Hikaru and Yabu. They had changed out of their formal clothes and into sleepwear, Hikaru's arm wound around Yabu's thin waist, smiles on both of their faces. Yuto glanced over at Inoo, worried about him still, but when he turned to his companion he found Inoo smiling over at his friends, and his voice had adopted its usual light, teasing nature, any indication that he was in distress eradicated, and the whiplash was jarring. Yuto just stared rather numbly as Inoo asked teasingly

"Did you miss me?" Yabu smiled, chuckling, and he asked

"You're staying the night, right Inoo-chan?" Inoo nodded, getting to his feet, his eyes shining with affection, and as Yuto watched their interaction, watched the way Inoo's eyes lit up when Yabu would reciprocate and play along with his flirting it struck him, and he felt a nauseous pitying sympathy spread throughout his body as he realized _Inoo was in love with Yabu._

"What about you, Yuto? I can have the staff prepare you a room." Hikaru offered, but Yuto shook his head, standing too.

"I should probably be going, thank you for everything." He couldn't help but watch Inoo, his understanding of the older man completely changed after their conversation, and he felt terribly sad as he bid them all a good night, the three of them waving him off at the door. He vowed to himself, as he rode back home, that he wouldn't let what had happened to Inoo happen to him. He was going to strive toward his own happiness. He had to. And it was with that thought in mind that when the following Friday, during their nightly phone call when Keito asked if they could get together, his response was an enthusiastic _yes_.

Yuto woke the next morning with an excited buzzing in his chest. He was meeting Keito at the same cafe they'd gone to the last time they had seen each other, getting coffee and brunch. Yuto had promised to take Keito out window shopping, and show him all of his favorite stores. It was just a casual get together, but it was the first time he was seeing the other man in a while, and they had never done something like this before. He wanted Keito to have a good time. He showered quickly, browsing through his clothes for much too long before settling on chuck taylors, skinny jeans, and a yellow plaid shirt over top of a white tank top. After going through his camera collection and selecting the perfect lens for the occasion, he went out.

He got there right on time, turning the last corner and looking up to see Keito already standing outside of the cafe, waiting for him. The other man was in jeans as well, and a black v-neck t-shirt, the collar dipping so low that it was almost risqué, showing a large portion of his pale chest. He looked really attractive Yuto admitted to himself, a small blush creeping up his cheeks. His companion hadn't seen him yet, and he stopped for a moment, raising his camera and taking a few pictures, preserving the way Keito looked in that moment before he called out to the older man, startling him and making him jump, before he broke out into a smile, waving back as Yuto closed the distance separating them.

"Have you been waiting long?" Yuto asked, Keito's smile growing bigger as he shook his head.

"You're right on time." Keito said quietly, pulling open the door to the cafe and gesturing for Yuto to go ahead. Yuto smiled, swooning a little and going in, the two getting seats in a secluded corner of the cafe and ordering coffees and pancakes. After the waiter had left, Keito turned to Yuto, admitting "I've come here a few times since you took me here. I like it." Yuto found himself smiling again.

"It's great isn't it? This is my favorite coffee shop. It's so...quaint." Keito nodded in agreement, saying

"It reminds me a bit of a place in England I would go to sometimes." Yuto leaned forward enthusiastically, folding his hands on the tabletop in front of him, nodding for Keito to elaborate, and the other man did, telling Yuto about England. He had gone to school most of his life there, and had transferred Universities when he had moved back to Japan. Yuto found himself entranced by Keito when he talked. He always loved hearing the older man's voice when they spoke on the phone at night, but actually seeing him, seeing the hand gestures he used and the facial expressions he made when he spoke was ten times better. Yuto didn't notice that he had been staring until Keito blushed, asking

"Is there something on my face?" It was Yuto's turn to blush, and he realized just how far he'd been leaning in, just how long he'd been staring, and he sat back in his chair, fiddling with his camera. He was saved from having to stutter out an explanation, as at that moment their waiter arrived with their food and drinks, to his relief. He dug into his plate, smiling as the taste of the pancakes hit his tongue. He was hungry; he hadn't realized just how hungry, too focused on Keito to notice his own needs. But now that he was it was blatantly obvious, and he cleared his plate in minutes, Keito watching him, a mild amusement on his features as he ate at a slower pace. Yuto didn't set his fork down until he was finished, and he realized, suddenly embarrassed, that he may not have been displaying his best manners, but Keito just smiled at him, swallowing the bite in his mouth and asking

"Was it good?"

"So good." Yuto dragged the words out for emphasis, scrunching his face up for dramatic effect, and Keito giggled, taking another bite of his own pancakes. Yuto raised his camera, focusing the image and capturing the moment just as Keito stuffed a large chunk of pancake into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out, full. Yuto chuckled at the photograph, Keito blinking in surprise, his eyes wide. He swallowed, saying

"I've got to look ridiculous."

"You're cute!" Yuto leaned across the table, showing Keito the image. "See?" Keito smiled.

"My cheeks are huge. I look like a chipmunk."

"I told you you were cute." Yuto declared.

"I don’t think I can get them any bigger." Keito said playfully. His voice was so quiet Yuto hadn't been sure he'd been meant to hear the words, but he smiled, raising his camera as he said

"Try!" Keito seemed rather embarrassed, a blush spreading across his cheeks, but he cut off about half of what was left on his plate, stacking the pancakes up on his fork.

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking over at Yuto tentatively, but Yuto just nodded, snapping pictures as Keito shoveled the huge stack of pancakes into his mouth. His eyes were wide, and his lips were pursed shut, barely closed, his cheeks taught with the food. He looked hilarious, and Yuto found himself laughing, kicking his feet and clapping, tears nearly coming to his eyes. His reaction seemed to put Keito at ease, and the older man giggled, his shoulders shaking as he chewed his huge mouthful, his hands coming up to cover his face. Once Yuto got himself under control he skirted around the table, scooting into the booth next to Keito and exclaiming

"You have to see these pictures! You look _great."_ He leaned into Keito's side, trying to ignore just how amazing the older man smelled, and he held out the camera so that Keito could see the screen on the back, showing him the images. Keito giggled, commenting on the ridiculous expressions he had made, his cheeks slightly pink from embarrassment. He quickly finished his pancakes, the two finally standing, paying for their meals and exiting the cafe. Yuto found that any nervousness he'd felt about taking Keito around had completely vanished, and he told Keito enthusiastically about the places he was going to be taking him as they started off on the way to their first destination.


	7. Chapter 7

Yuto and Keito bounced from store to store, looking at clothes and accessories, pointing out things that they liked and chatting with the store clerks. It was a lot of fun, and Keito particularly enjoyed the graphic t-shirts, often telling Yuto that the English phrases printed across the fabric either made no sense, or were sexual or offensive in some manner, translating them to Yuto's great amusement. It wasn't until they had been through a couple of stores that Keito pulled a shirt from the rack, saying

"You should try this one on. I think it would suit you." It was light blue, with bright red lettering, and Yuto didn't have a clue what the English words said, but he agreed in a heartbeat, taking the shirt from Keito's hands and saying

"Okay, but we'll have to find something for you to try on!" Yuto browsed the store, looking for the most ridiculous piece of clothing he could find, eventually settling on a hot pink monstrosity with a rainbow and a unicorn on it. It said _follow your dreams_ across the back, up on the shoulders, and he giggled for five minutes before declaring to Keito that he definitely had to try it on. Keito looked at the article of clothing in disbelief, before setting his shoulders, as if steeling himself for a fight, and nodding, taking the shirt from Yuto's hands. They get separate dressing rooms, and once Yuto had changed he called out "Are you ready?" There was a small pause.

"Um...sure." Yuto opened the door to his dressing room, peeking out. Keito caught his eye, the older man stepping out of his completely. He paused, letting Yuto take in the sight. The shirt was a bit too small, stretched tightly across his broad chest, warping the unicorn slightly. He took a deep breath, his cheeks pink, before asking in a jokingly high pitched voice "Am I cute?" He made a peace sign with his fingers, before blushing a brilliant red and hiding his face in his hands. Yuto laughed, howling and falling to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"Keito, that was amazing." He wiped at his eyes, looking up at Keito from his place on the floor, and beaming. Keito was still very red, and he peeled off the shirt, revealing creamy skin stretched over pronounced muscles, and suddenly Yuto wasn't laughing anymore, too caught up in the sudden display of skin, and he blushed, feeling stupid for being affected by something so silly. Luckily for him, Keito didn't notice, just leaning into his dressing room to grab his black shirt as Yuto pulled himself to his feet. Yuto turned away, making an effort not to stare as Keito pulled his own shirt back on, instead looking at his own reflection in the mirror. The shirt Keito had picked for him fit him nicely, and it was very soft, the material it was made out of felt amazing on his skin.

"I like this." Yuto declared, running his hands along his front and adjusting the bottom edge of the shirt. Keito smiled, nodding

"Just like I thought, it suits you."

"It feels amazing, see?" Yuto rubbed at the fabric, leaning in towards Keito, and Keito tentatively reached out, rubbing his hand over Yuto's side. He smiled, nodding. "I'm buying it!" Yuto declared. It wasn't until he'd paid for the shirt and they had left the store that he had the presence of mind to ask "What do the words say?" Keito broke out into a smile, chuckling lowly.

"It says _'I'm too sexy for this shirt'_ on it." He paused, as Yuto blinked at him in surprise, looking down at the shopping bag slung over his wrist. "See, it told you it suits you." Keito said, giggling. Yuto smiled, shaking his head bemusedly, trying to take the compliment in stride. Trying to brush it off as if it wasn't a big deal. They walked around going from shop to shop for a few hours, and it wasn't until mid afternoon that Keito pointed to an ice cream shop a few doors down, asking "Want to go there?"

He had been letting Yuto lead him the whole day, and Yuto was eager to do anything Keito suggested, the two entering the place, quickly placing their orders and taking seats, sighing in relief as they sat, their shopping bags resting by their rather sore feet. They'd been doing a lot of walking, Yuto hadn't realized how much his feet hurt until he'd taken his weight off of them, stretching his long legs out underneath the table. They tangled with Keito's, and Keito apologized, moving to get his limbs out of Yuto's way, but Yuto clasped his shins shut around one of Keito's ankles, holding it.

"I've got you!" He declared teasingly, and Keito giggled, struggling to free himself, using his other foot to push at Yuto's in an attempt to unlock the bind he'd put around Keito's ankle. Instead of freeing himself, he just got more stuck when Yuto managed to pull that foot in, securing it with the first. Keito sighed dramatically, scrunching his face up in mock distress, and Yuto giggled, comforting him as their ice cream arrived. Yuto had gotten a large chocolate and vanilla swirl cone, while Keito had gone for a deluxe sundae, the older man's bowl an extravaganza of fruit, whipped cream, and what looked like at least three flavors of ice cream.

They dug into their treats, Yuto still keeping Keito's ankles clasped firmly between his own, and occasionally Keito would pull, twist, and give a half hearted attempt to free himself from Yuto's grasp, but each attempt ended in failure. Whenever this would happen, they would both end up giggling into their ice creams, like children. They had been light heartedly exclaiming over how good the food was, when Keito took his spoon and leaned in, over the small table, saying

"Try it." He'd gotten a strawberry and some ice cream on his spoon, and Yuto felt himself blushing a bit as he leaned forward, taking it into his mouth. It was spectacular, the fruit perfectly ripe, the flavors crisp and fresh.

"That's delicious." He announced, Keito smiling.

"Want more? I got a lot. I mostly wanted the fruit." He was already digging back into his bowl, this time offering Yuto a slice of pineapple and a mountain of whipped cream. Yuto leaned in, meeting the spoon halfway, and Keito giggled when he couldn't fit all of the whipped cream into his mouth, some of it getting onto the end of his nose. Yuto tried to get at it with his tongue before giving up, Keito already leaning in and brushing it away with a finger, licking it off of his hand. Both of them were blushing now, and Yuto glanced down at his hands to find that his own ice cream was melting all down his knuckles.

He yelped in surprise, frantically stuffing it into his mouth and trying to clean himself up. Keito burst into laughter, and it was the first time that Yuto saw him laugh really hard, his nose scrunching up cutely, one hand coming up to cover his face as his shoulders shook. Eventually, between the giggles and light words of conversation they finished their ice cream, Keito even managing to free his ankles from Yuto's grasp, although the struggle resulted in him crashing out of his chair and onto the floor. Yuto had leapt up in surprise, skirting around the edge of the table and leaning in to help Keito up, asking if he was hurt. Keito assured him that he was fine, telling him that he was actually rather clumsy, and to not blame himself.

By the time they had left the ice cream parlor it was time for them to part ways, and it was only reluctantly that Yuto bid Keito farewell. Keito surprised him by grabbing him and pulling him in for a hug, squeezing him tightly. Yuto hugged him back, breathing in the scent of the older man's cologne, relishing the way Keito's big arms seemed to envelop him, warm and comforting. When they broke apart, Keito said

"Thank you for today, Yuto. I had a lot of fun." Yuto knew he was smiling, _beaming_.

"Me too! I'll call you tonight, yeah? The usual time." Keito nodded, smiling back at him.

"I look forward to it." And with that, the two parted ways, Yuto practically skipping, swinging his shopping bags from his wrist as he made his way back home. As he'd promised, that evening he dialed Keito's familiar number, anticipation buzzing in his chest. His time out with Keito had been better than he'd anticipated. Their interactions had been so natural, so _comfortable_. Yuto had felt _right_ when he was by Keito's side, and he knew that this bond they were creating was something special.

He'd always been good at making friends, but with Keito it felt like they'd known each other for years. It felt like they just _fit_. Like they belonged together. Being with Keito had made Yuto more happy than he had been in longer than he could remember, and perhaps he should have felt more guilty, more anxious about it, about what consequences these feelings—this pure, wholly enveloping happiness—could bring, but honestly, at the moment he really didn't care. And so he didn't try to fight the smile that blossomed on his lips when through the receiver of his phone he heard Keito's deep voice say fondly

"Yuto, hi."

From that point on Yuto saw Keito in person at least twice a week. They met up at cafes and restaurants, they'd go out for movies and go shopping and go to events. Some days when the weather was nice Yuto would stage a photo shoot, taking Keito to iconic or beautiful places with a picnic basket, and have the older man pose for him. He loved taking pictures of Keito, he came to find, and Keito would sometimes get behind the lens himself, Yuto explaining the camera settings to him enthusiastically, before handing the camera over. There were only a few people Yuto trusted with his cameras, but he barely had to think about it before passing the machines over into Keito's gentle hands.

Yuto loved spending time with Keito, and Keito in turn showered Yuto in affection, frequently showing up at their designated meeting place with small gifts that he'd seen and had made him think of Yuto. He greeted and said goodbye to Yuto with warm hugs, and he was very physical in his affection, touching Yuto lightly on the arm or shoulder during their conversations, and even on occasion, holding Yuto's hand. Yuto sometimes felt guilty about the physical closeness, especially the hand holding. It would strike him out of the blue, when they'd feed each other, or Keito would take his hand and give it a little squeeze, and he'd remember the fiancé his parents had waiting for him, and he'd feel nauseous with his guilt. Yet, he usually couldn't find it in himself to pull away from Keito, and it wasn’t enough to keep him from changing the contact name for Keito’s number in his phone to a heart, the symbol ensuring that Keito was at the top of his contact list.

Yuto remembered vividly the first time Keito had held his hand. They'd stayed out late, Keito having taken him to a pool hall to teach him how to play billiards. Keito was spectacular, Yuto thought, he himself rather clumsy with the cue stick, despite Keito's assurances that he was doing great for his first time. They had been walking back into more familiar territory, and had taken a wrong turn, ending up in a back alley. Yuto wasn't too concerned, it wasn't like they were in a bad neighborhood, and he figured that the alley could even be considered a bit of a shortcut. But Keito had obviously been anxious, his eyes wide and his jaw clenched. Up ahead, there had been a loud crash, and he'd latched onto Yuto's arm, letting out a yelp, his hand grabbing tightly to Yuto's own and squeezing. Even after he'd calmed down he hadn't let go of Yuto's hand, and Yuto hadn't tried to pull away.

Yuto's extensive time spent with Keito didn't go unnoticed. Both Yamada and Chinen had commented on the fact that Yuto was spending a lot less time at home, and while Yamada was still anxious and disapproving of Yuto spending any time at all with Keito, Chinen seemed to be much more supportive, asking Yuto about his time spent with the older man, and being much more willing to listen to Yuto's descriptions of his friend. Yuto knew that both of his roommates could tell that he was falling in love—falling hard—and he tried to ignore it, tried not to make a big deal out of the situation, and they both followed his lead. It was just quietly understood that Yuto was digging himself deeper and deeper into a pit, the more in love he fell. But no one, not even Yamada, seemed to have the heart to confront him about it.

Yuto knew that one way or another, his relationship with Keito was bound to end in heartbreak, and sometimes he found himself thinking about the consequences of his actions, of his feelings. The thought of what was going to happen when he graduated from school, and his responsibilities to his family could no longer be avoided, and he'd have to throw his feelings for Keito away and marry some unknown, _unwelcome_ fiancé, or worse, cut Keito out of his life completely. These thoughts kept him up for hours some nights, his stomach churning in dread, and he'd tell himself that he really should start creating some distance now, before it all got worse. But when he'd wake up the following morning to find that Keito had sent him a picture, the older man smiling and lying in bed, thick hair shining brightly in the morning sun, all thoughts of pushing him away would dissipate. It was just so easy to ignore the impending regret and heartbreak when he was so blissfully happy.


	8. Chapter 8

Life continued on in this manner for a few months, but as the time passed and June turned into July Yuto's school load multiplied exponentially. He had exams at the end of the month right before the summer break, and all of his teachers seemed to think that the best way to prepare him was to pile on projects and essays. Keito too was facing a heavier workload in school, and as a result they saw less and less of each other, falling back on their nightly phone calls as their main form of communication. Still, Yuto missed Keito, missed seeing his face, and he complained one night over dinner to his housemates, Chinen asking

"Is there a reason you two aren't video calling or something?" Yamada pursed his lips, not saying anything, but Yuto just blinked a few times, taking that suggestion in. Chinen was brilliant. Why hadn't he thought of that? He expressed Chinen's suggestion to Keito that evening, crawling under his sheets and flopping back on his pillow, saying tentatively

"What do you think of video calling?"

"Video calling?" Keito sounded mildly surprised, the older man's voice slightly distant. He was working on a paper for one of his university classes, and had Yuto on speaker, Yuto occasionally hearing the sounds of typing through his receiver.

"Yeah. I miss seeing you, and I know we're both really busy, but...we could do homework together, maybe? It would be nice to see your face." There was a pause, the keyboard sounds stopping, and Yuto could picture the blush spreading across Keito's cheeks, the warm smile blooming on his lips.

"I miss you too. But, do you really want to just watch me work on my computer? You don't think that you'd be bored?"

"No! I'll do my homework too. It would just be a way to keep each other company. I would enjoy my study time much more if I could look up and see your face." Yuto could feel himself growing a little embarrassed at the confession, but it was the truth, and it did the trick, Keito agreeing readily to try this whole video calling idea the following afternoon. And so, once Yuto had come home from his final class for the day, they set their laptops up, Yuto's anticipation high as he ran the program. There were a few moments of blackness, and then a confused looking Keito was peering back at him through his screen, and Yuto let out a shout of triumph, a grin blooming on his face. Keito started in surprise at the loud noise, but then he locked eyes with Yuto through the screen, and he smiled, waving and saying

"Yuto, hi. I've missed you." Yuto swooned a little, taking in Keito's face—somehow more handsome than the last time they'd properly seen each other—and he said

"This is awesome. Chinen is a genius." Keito nodded in agreement, the two of them just staring at each other through the screens for a few moments, before Yuto remembered why they were doing this, declaring "Homework! We need to do our homework. I have to finish my twenty page accounting essay today." He sighed. "Who assigns essays in a math class?" Keito laughed, bending down and returning into the frame with his arms full of thick textbooks and notebooks.

"I have to take notes over the next few lessons in my Humanities and English courses, as well as get started on an essay for my Advanced Environmental Studies class." Keito informed him, Yuto staring amazed at the pile Keito set on the desk in front of him.

"Well...let's get started then!" Yuto declared, and they did. There wasn't much talking between them, but as Yuto had said the night before, it was nice to be able to look up and see Keito, the other man's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he wrote. There was the occasional exclamation, or muttered question from either end, and sometimes Keito would ramble to himself in English, much to Yuto's amusement. Whenever this would happen it completely drew Yuto's focus away from his essay, and he'd still and listen as the foreign words rolled off of Keito's tongue. In the end however, Yuto managed to get his essay finished, and the experiment was declared a success, Keito telling Yuto that his presence had made the grueling homework experience much more enjoyable.

From that point on every day when they got home from school they'd open up their laptops and video call each other, sharing small talk and even occasionally helping each other with difficult or confusing parts of their respective homework. It wasn't the same as actually getting to see Keito in person, but it was still much better than going for days on end without a glimpse of the other man's face. Yuto loved getting to see the expressions Keito made as he worked, loved the little whines of frustration and the quiet smiles of success. But above all Yuto's favorite parts of the day were when they had finished their assigned school work, usually late in the evening, and they would just sit and talk. Yuto relocated from his desk to his bed, leaning back against the headboard, his laptop on his knees, and they'd talk about anything and everything until one of them would admit that they simply had to go to bed. On more than one occasion Keito fell asleep with his laptop still open, his head hung forward, eyes shut.

It was in this manner that Keito cemented himself as a regular presence in Yuto's life, and Yuto always felt incomplete if he went a day without Keito's presence. Despite that, they didn't actually see each other in person throughout the whole month of July, and as the weeks passed and they got further into July even their video calls grew shorter, the two both exhausted by the pressure of their exams.

But it wasn't just his impending exams that Yuto had to worry about, as one evening only a few days before the tests he came home and stepped out of his elevator to hear yelling. Bewildered, he searched for the sound of the noise, following it to Chinen's bedroom door. It was Chinen and—to Yuto's shock—Takaki, the two obviously in the middle of a heated argument. Yuto had never heard the two of them get into a fight ever. Takaki always was very considerate of Chinen, and Chinen in turn was aware of what Takaki did and didn't like, and respected him. They were a good fit, and to hear them screaming at each other was unnerving. Anxious and uncomfortable, Yuto crossed the hall to Yamada's room, peeking his head in to find his friend in flitting around, gathering clothes and shoving them into a bag he had open on his bed.

"Yama-chan, what's going on? What happened with Chinen? They're screaming at each other in there." Yamada sighed, looking like Yuto felt; anxious, worried, and uncomfortable.

"I got home after all of this started but...from what I've gathered Takaki-kun ran into Ryutaro in the elevator. I'm pretty sure Takaki-kun had already known about Chii having a boyfriend, but...maybe Ryu said something, or maybe it was just _seeing_ him that set it off, I don’t know—" He sighed. "—I think he's finally sick of Chinen fooling around. I don't know if he's breaking up with him or what, but..." He slung his bag over his shoulder. "I'm getting out of here. I'm going to Dai-chan's for the night, I can't stand this." Yuto was at a bit of a loss as to what to do, still bewildered by this unprecedented turn of events, but he wished Yamada a farewell over the sound of Takaki's booming voice.

He wanted to escape too, wanted to get away from the yelling. He didn't want to listen to Chinen and Takaki's fight. But he didn't really have anywhere else to go, and besides, someone was going to have to be here for Chinen, right? Chinen hated being alone, even when everything in his life was going well he was the type that got lonely easily. He'd need someone to be there for him when Takaki left, and with Yamada gone there was no one else but Yuto to fill that role. So after a few moments of tense indecision Yuto gathered all of his textbooks and school supplies and parked himself at the dining table. If he was going to spend the foreseeable future comforting Chinen, he'd better get as much of his school work done now as he could. He got to work, putting in his earbuds and turning up the volume of his music in an attempt to drown out the sound of the arguing.

He actually managed to be quite productive, managing to get nearly all of his assigned work done before Takaki stormed through the open living area, Yuto keeping his head down, pretending to focus on statistics as he paused his music, listening. Takaki's dramatic exit was made slightly less dramatic by the slow opening and closing of the elevator doors, and as soon as the older man was out of the penthouse Yuto rushed over to the penthouse phone, calling for room service. There was no way he'd get a chance to cook tonight. As he asked for the kitchen to bring them an obscenely large portion of gyoza—the only one of Chinen's favorite comfort foods that held any sort of nutritional value, and what was probably going to end up being both his and Chinen's dinner—he came to realize that there was definitely sniffling coming from Chinen's bedroom.

He cringed inwardly. Chinen never cried. Ever. The last time Chinen had cried was when they were children, and Chinen was forced to take care of his third grade class' pet bunny for a weekend, despite his fear of the creature. Chinen was level headed, smart, logical, and as long as there wasn't a high stakes competition, good under pressure. The younger man had his pride, he kept himself collected, and it made Yuto feel terrible when he entered Chinen's room and he saw his friend in a ball on his bed, his dark hair tousled over his eyes, his face red with emotion, tear tracks down running down his cheeks from scrunched up eyes. Yuto just sat down next to him on the bed, not having to offer for Chinen to latch onto him, the smaller man curling into Yuto's side, throwing his legs into Yuto's lap and curling his tiny body into Yuto's bigger chest, tucking his head under Yuto's chin.

Chinen let out a small squeaking noise, his breathing ragged, whole body quivering, tremors of exhaustion running through him, and as Yuto wrapped his arms around his friend Chinen burst out into sobs, his fingers curling into Yuto's shirt, his breath hot on Yuto's neck as he cried, his tears and snot leaving Yuto's neck wet. Yuto didn't really know what to say, so he just held onto Chinen, hoping that everything was going to be okay. He was still not sure just how serious of a situation they were in. What had been the outcome of Chinen's fight with Takaki? Had there been any declarations, or was it just angry sparks flying? Now wasn't the time to ask, so he just held Chinen tight, trying to remain cheerful, trying not to let Chinen's distress disturb him...at least, not outwardly. He wasn't sure how long they sat like that, but eventually Chinen's sobs became muted hic's and deep breaths, and sniffling, and then, finally silence.

"He...he ran into Ryu-chan." Chinen murmured, his voice small, but easy for Yuto to make out in the heavy silence that had fallen once Chinen's tears had stopped. "He said he's tired of watching me fool around. He-he said..." Chinen took a deep breath, his body shuddering with it. "...he said I have to pick. Him or Ryu. He said he's tired of waiting around." There was a pause, Chinen taking one had and unfurling his grasp on Yuto's shirt. "He came over tonight to discuss setting a date for our wedding." _Oh. Ouch._ Yuto could understand Takaki's reaction. It was to be expected; it was a normal reaction to catching one's fiancé's lover leaving their home. Especially when you had been planning on discussing a lifelong commitment. Yet as he held a still quivering Chinen in his arms, he couldn't help but feel bad for his friend. Chinen had brought this upon himself, but that didn't invalidate his feelings, or make Yuto not feel sorry for him.

Chinen fell silent, fiddling with something in his free hand, and Yuto was about to speak again, about to suggest that they check and see if the gyoza had been delivered, when Chinen spoke again.

"I...I don't know if I _can."_ Yuto blinked in confusion, looking down at the top of Chinen's head in a failed attempt to look at the tiny man's face.

"If you can?"

"Choose." Chinen's voice had grown slightly shrill with emotion once more. "I...I'm not just _fooling around_. I like Ryu. I like him _and_ Yuya. It's not a game...I know it looks like it sometimes, but I'm not an _idiot_. I just...I just love them _both."_ As he talked his words got more and more watery, and his shoulder's shook, barely containing his distress. "It didn't happen on purpose, I didn't want to fall in love with two men, but...I love them both and, how am I supposed to just cut someone I love out of my life? How am I supposed to _pick_ one to just toss away? I can't just forget about either of them. I can't just—" He cut himself off, burying his face back into Yuto's chest. Yuto just kept on holding him, not really understanding. He'd only ever had romantic feelings for one person; had only ever wanted to be kissed and held and _loved_ by one person in his whole life; there was no way he could even begin to try and understand what Chinen was going through.

He didn't have any way to relate—not in the feelings aspect of Chinen's decision anyway. If Chinen really did have to choose, and he chose Ryutaro, and Takaki broke up with him, then Chinen would likely be disowned, would be separated from his family and his current lifestyle, and his friends. Choosing Ryutaro would completely isolate him from everyone else; but if he truly loved Ryutaro like he said, then perhaps staying in the penthouse here without him would make Chinen just as miserable; just as lonely and depressed, and that too seemed to Yuto a distasteful choice. It was in that aspect, the same as the choice Yuto himself may have to make one day, when his parents got tired of waiting for him to come around and they gave him an ultimatum.

After a few minutes Yuto heard Chinen's stomach growl, and it was then that he managed to coax Chinen to come out into the living room, where the hotel staff had placed a huge platter of gyoza for them on their coffee table, and Chinen's lips quirked upwards in a small attempt at a smile at Yuto's obvious coddling, and they sat together, Yuto allowing Chinen to curl up close into his side as they ate. Neither of them really spoke throughout the whole eating process, and after the platter had been cleared Chinen just curled even further into Yuto's side, fiddling silently with his engagement ring, his eyes still red from all of his crying as he focused on the shiny, diamond encrusted band. Eventually the two of them fell asleep together there on the couch, Yuto hoping that just his presence would be enough.


	9. Chapter 9

In the next couple of days Yuto barely had any time to spend on Chinen, or Chinen's boyfriend dilemma. His focus was completely swallowed by his exams, everything just textbook pages, and this pencil on paper. The only time he ever came out of his exam tunnel vision was in the evenings, a few hours after dinner, when—if he felt things were going well—he would allow himself a thirty minute break, and a snack. Chinen wasn't giving much of an indication of how he was handling the ultimatum Takaki had placed in his lap, the only real change in Yuto's tiny friend that he'd grown even quieter than usual.

Chinen had seemed to have withdrawn into himself slightly, his cute face a blank mask during any free time they spent together. Chinen had always been someone Yuto had admired for his ability to keep himself happy. Chinen had always known how to unapologetically fight for his own happiness, and Yuto just hoped that whatever decision he made, it was made for himself. Yamada in Daiki's absence—as he too had exams, and was spending long hours studying—had seemed to make it his goal to try and make Chinen crack a smile, for which Yuto was grateful.

Yuto's exams passed in a week of long, grueling days that had minimal human interaction, and were completely void of any contact from Keito. He missed the other man, the feeling of longing keeping him up at night and making his chest physically ache in a way he hadn't felt since he'd moved out of his family home, and had for the first time in his life spent an extended period away from Raiya. The aching just drew the week out longer, dragging Yuto through the days tediously. And so, when on the evening of the next to last day of testing he got a quick, short text from Keito asking if he'd like to get together that Saturday once they were both free from their exams, electricity ran through his whole body, and suddenly he fell out of the stupor that statistics had put him in, something leaping in his chest. He couldn't type _yes_ back fast enough.

Finally, _finally,_ he finished his exams that Friday afternoon, and to celebrate he, Yamada, Daiki, and Chinen all went out to eat. Yuto considered asking Chinen if Ryutaro was coming too—he surely had just completed exams of his own—but he couldn't seem to force the words past his lips, and despite how much Yamada and Daiki spoiled him throughout the meal, their youngest companion went home early. Still, despite Chinen's obviously depressed state they had a good time, Yuto and Daiki relieved that their exams were over, Yamada just glad that Daiki could spend more time with him now that they had reached the summer break. They laughed and ate and drank into the night, and Yuto had a wonderful time. But as it grew late, and Yamada and Daiki grew more and more wrapped up in each other, Yuto decided to call it a night.

He bid his friends farewell, the two of them too engrossed in the flirty hand game they were playing under the table to mind Yuto's departure, and made his way home, a smile on his face. He was free of his exams, which meant, most importantly, that he was free to see Keito again. He wasn't the only one thinking like this it seemed, because as he stepped out of the elevator and into his home he got a text, Keito's name lighting up on his phone screen in the dark room. Excitement and anticipation bubbled up in his chest as he opened the message. It was short, saying simply _I can't wait to see you tomorrow._

A smile bloomed on Yuto's lips as he read the message, and he thought about Keito lying in his room on his bed, typing out that message, a small smile on his lips as he thought of Yuto, and it made something in his chest squeeze. He slipped on his house shoes, twirling past the couch on the way to his bedroom, elated with excitement and happiness, anticipation at getting to see Keito again making him feel suddenly wide awake. They were meeting at his favorite cafe, and Keito would probably get there early and wait for Yuto outside, and when they saw each other he'd wave and smile, and he'd pull Yuto in for one of his big bear hugs, enveloping him in his warm, strong arms. They'd eat and laugh, and Keito would lean in when Yuto talked, listening attentively, and he'd take Yuto's free hand in his own, and he'd run his fingers casually over Yuto's knuckles, and Yuto would pretend not to notice, but it would send tingles shooting up his arm. It was going to be fantastic, it was going to be everything Yuto wanted, and so, as he flopped down on his bed, Yuto couldn't keep the smile off of his face, as he typed back _Me too._

Yuto woke early the next morning. Yamada had never come home that night; Yuto assumed he'd gone back to Daiki's place, and Chinen was fast asleep. Yuto did his best to stay quiet as he flitted around the penthouse, showering and getting dressed, primping for nearly too long, before grabbing Keito's favorite of his cameras—the older man claimed it was the easiest to use—and his cell phone, and whirling out the door, practically skipping as he bid farewells to the hotel staff that he passed as he made his way out into the streets, anticipation bubbling in his chest. He'd just rounded his last corner, catching sight of Keito, the older man standing just outside the cafe, like Yuto had predicted he would, looking immensely handsome in jeans and a white button down shirt, the first few buttons undone, a black corded necklace hanging in the space, matching thick leather cuffs on his wrists.

Yuto was practically shivering in anticipation, and he made to call out to Keito, raising one hand in greeting, when a black limousine pulled up next to him, large men in suits emerging from inside of the car and surrounding him, looking stern as one said

"Nakajima-sama, your parents have requested that you be brought home immediately." Yuto was stunned, not even really comprehending what was happening, his eyes still glued to Keito's form down at the end of the street, as someone grabbed him by the arm, ushering him toward the open door to the car.

"No, wait—I have to—I have plans, I can't—" Yuto was pulling against the grip on his arm, confused and not ready to give up on his breakfast with Keito. But he was dragged into the interior of the car, the men confiscating his phone and his camera, and it was then, as the limousine started to move, that Yuto realized that he could be in big trouble. They passed right in front of Keito, and Yuto pounded on the window, trying to get the older man's attention, but the windows were heavily tinted, and Keito didn't even look his way, instead looking out down the sidewalk, his eyes shining bright with an anticipation that only a few moments before Yuto had shared, unaware that Yuto was passing by, in distress. Yuto turned back around, slumping dejectedly in his seat.

"What's going on? What do my parents want with me?" He asked, frustrated and confused. They'd never snatched him off the street like this before. "Can't I at least have my phone back? I need to tell my...friend that I'm going to be late." His questions went unanswered, and all subsequent questions were met with stony silence and blank expressions, the men refusing to even look him in the eye. The treatment just served to confuse and anger him further, and by the time they got out of the city, and he realized that this wasn't a quick visit to one of his parents' offices, and that they were taking him all the way to his family home, he was riled up, fidgeting and twitchy in frustration. And so, once the limousine pulled to a stop in front of the mansion he'd been raised in, he pushed his way out of the car, ready to burst in and yell until he got some answers.

His anger was softened when as he stomped up the marble steps that led to the great sweeping front doors Raiya burst out of them, running at him and throwing himself into Yuto's arms, grabbing him and squeezing tightly, and Yuto pulled Raiya close on instinct, his anger now tainted with concern.

"Raiya? Are you okay?"

"Yeah...yeah, it's just...you haven't been answering my texts. I've sent you five texts this past week, and you didn't answer a single one. You _never_ ignore my texts, and I...I just was afraid you'd gotten hurt or something. You really scared me, Nii-chan." Yuto blinked in surprise, guilt washing over him. He hadn't been answering his phone at all in the past week, and he'd told himself that he would get back to everyone that had attempted to contact him once his exams were over, but...he just hadn't yet. Raiya was right though, he never had left a text of Raiya's unanswered before. He knew that if their positions had been switched, and Raiya had suddenly stopped responding to his texts, he would probably freak out.

"Sorry. I...I had exams. I was just studying. I'm okay, I promise." Raiya nodded, taking a big breath, and Yuto squeezed him tightly, as the men that had escorted him in the limousine came up the stairs, pulling open the front doors and saying

"Nakajima-sama, if you would please come this way, your parents are waiting for you in the study." Yuto frowned, not moving, his arms curling tighter around Raiya.

"Do you know what they want with me?" Yuto asked his brother quietly. "Is it because I wasn't answering my phone?"

"I think so...when I got nervous, I asked them if they knew anything about it. That was yesterday morning, but...they didn't say anything to me." Yuto nodded, and Raiya pulled away from him, the two going up the stairs and into the familiar house together. It was just as Yuto remembered it, and he couldn't help but smile, as he took off his shoes and pulled on the green and blue striped house shoes his mother had bought him in his last year of high school. At the time they'd been way too big, but now if anything they were a little bit snug. He didn't need to be directed to the study, and he took the stairs, taking his time and letting his eyes run over the banister and the pictures on the walls, nostalgia hitting him harder than he'd expected it to. He was feeling a bit better, having an idea about what his parents wanted to talk to him about making him feel more assured. It was just a simple misunderstanding, he could talk to them, apologize to Keito for missing their breakfast, and reschedule.

He stopped outside of the study door, taking a deep breath, before knocking, hearing his father's voice say

"Come in." They were both in there, his father standing on the far side of the room, over by the desk, his mother in a chair, nursing what looked like a glass of scotch. He blinked in surprise; she rarely drank.

"Yuto."

"Hi mom, dad. What's going on?" Neither of them had moved from their positions, their faces unsmiling, his mother in particular looking distressed, and it put him on edge. There was a pause, his father gesturing for him to take a seat, the action only proving to make Yuto more nervous. But he did as he was told, and as he did, his father began to speak.

"Raiya informed us that you haven't been answering his attempts to get in contact with you this past week. He seemed very anxious about the matter, so your mother and I had someone locate you using your cell phone. We found you, but Yuto, we found a lot of other things." Yuto felt a chill run down his spine, dread pitting in his stomach, as his father reached over and grabbed a manila folder from the surface of the desk. He opened it up, pulling out a photograph and handing it to Yuto. It was a picture of Keito, the older man smiling, his hair half in his face, still wet from a recent shower. He had sent it to Yuto a couple of weeks ago, right before they had both gotten completely swamped by their exams. It was probably the most recent photograph he had of Keito. Yuto was starting to feel rather nauseous.

"We found out we've been too lenient with you." His mother finally spoke, her tone one of hard disappointment.

"You've communicated with this young man extensively over the past few months. Your relationship with him is unacceptable—frivolous and irresponsible." His father continued. "Yuto, you must know that it cannot continue." Yuto's stomach was churning, he could feel himself becoming more and more upset with each word that fell from his father's lips. They were talking about Keito as if he was a dog that had peed on their carpet, as if he were a cockroach problem that needed to be exterminated. They were talking about him as if he was less than human; it was distressing, and Yuto could feel himself growing angry, getting defensive.

"No. I don't see why I would have to cut ties with him." Yuto declared, his mother scoffing indignantly.

"Because Yuto, you're engaged to someone else. This boy is only going to get in your way. You have to stop seeing him."

"No." Yuto had known this conversation would come up one day, and he hadn't ever been able to predict how he was going to react, but now that he was living it, what he wanted was pretty clear to him.

"You won't see him again, Yuto." His father declared, brow furrowed, lips pursed in a small disapproving frown. Yuto hated that look, but his mother's sharp glare was no better. He got to his feet, the picture of Keito clutched in his hand. He could feel tears stinging in his eyes, and he tried to keep his voice steady, tried to feign calm, but he had always been terrible at lying to his parents, at lying to anyone, really, and he knew they could see just how upset he was, knew they caught the tremor in his voice as he said

"You can't keep me from seeing him." It was a bold rebellion, more fierce than anything he'd ever done in the past, and he was terrified of what they were going to say, what they were going to do. Because he wasn't sure he was strong enough to stand up to an ultimatum. He wasn't sure he was strong enough to walk away. But, conversely, he wasn't sure he was strong enough to leave Keito either. But that wasn't his decision to make, he came to find, his mother saying

"Yes, Yuto. We can, and we will. We should have brought you home months ago. We've been trying to indulge you, be patient, and allow you to work through this rebellious streak you've been going through, but enough is enough. You cannot keep ignoring your responsibilities, and disregarding your family! This boy is not your future, we are, and even if you can't see it now, one day you'll understand; this is for your own good. You're moving back home. Your room is already prepared for your arrival." Yuto was blindsided, his parents decision something he was completely unprepared for, and he just blinked at them in shock, his jaw going slack, but his grip on Keito's photograph only tightening. When he finally spoke again, his voice was shaky with unshed tears, as he asked

"What are you going to do, just lock me up? Force me to stay here?" It was clear that he wasn't the only one distressed, his parents both looking nearly as upset as he felt.

"We don't want that, but we are prepared to if necessary." His mother murmured. Yuto didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. He was still trying to comprehend everything that had been decided for him in the blink of an eye, still trying to mentally accept that all of his freedom had been removed in a snap decision, and he wanted to run. He wanted to escape, but they had taken his phone, he couldn't even ask anyone for help, and knew that he wouldn't be able to keep away from his parents for long. He was trapped. He could feel tears building up in his eyes, and he tried to hold them in, tried to save face. His parents stood, exiting the room, his father saying

"We'll be expecting you at dinner." They were immediately replaced by servants, one of the men saying

"Please, let us escort you to your room, Nakajima-sama." Feeling utterly defeated, Yuto followed the men numbly to his childhood bedroom, where he was finally left alone. Big, wet tears rolled down his cheeks, and he allowed himself to cry, as his happiness crumbled, and reality finally hit.


	10. Chapter 10

In the next few days Yuto was completely on house arrest. He was allowed to wander the mansion freely, but he could not go outside, and he was always followed by at least one of his parents manservants. He was cut off completely from the outside world, all means of communication removed. His parents had even taken Raiya's phone, knowing that their younger son wouldn't say no if Yuto asked to make a call. Despite these restrictions his parent's placed upon his life, they made an effort to make him feel like he was home. They ate all of his favorite foods, and had prepared his favorite movies and books, and they'd even bought him a couple of high end cameras, but no amount of coaxing made Yuto feel any better, the noose of his parent's control too tight around his throat to be ignored, and he spent most of his time either sitting with Raiya, or alone in his room, trying to think of a way out.

His parents both tried to 'reason' with him multiple times in the following days, his father mainly discussing his company, talking with Yuto about how things were going, and what he'd like Yuto to experience as an employee before taking over as CEO. These talks often included wheedling and coercing in the hope of Yuto starting at the company right away, his father even going as far as to offer to let Yuto out of the house, so long as he agreed to come with him to work. His mother meanwhile focused mainly on the arranged marriage, and while Yuto dreaded all conversation with his parents, the ones about his fiancé were significantly worse than the ones about his future company.

His mother talked a great deal about the benefits of his marriage, and she explained why he had to go through with it, why the suitor he was promised to would make his life better. Yet, in all of her attempts at coercion, the word _happiness_ never crossed her lips. It was miserable, the three of them often getting into screaming matches, Raiya breaking them up, dragging Yuto away. Yuto cried a lot, and to his dismay Raiya did too, his precious little brother asking him one evening, after dinner had disintegrated into another grand fight

"Nii-chan, is all of this fighting really better than just agreeing to what they want?" For a moment Yuto floundered in despair, not sure what to say, because he really, truly was miserable. But then his eyes caught on the crumpled photograph of Keito, the one he’d kept after his father had shoved it in his face that first morning, and he nodded.

"I—I think so." He croaked out, his husky voice even more rough than usual, due to his crying. _I hope so._

This lasted for over a week, Yuto trapped in his family home, the days wearing down on his hope of getting out. Until one afternoon, nearly two weeks into his forced isolation, when a servant approached him during lunch, holding in his hands a tray upon which lay all of Yuto's confiscated possessions. Yuto looked over at the man in surprise.

"Your parents have declared that you are free to go." The servant told him, placing the tray down on the tabletop next to his breakfast plate. Yuto stared at his phone in disbelief.

"You're kidding."

"No I am not, sir." A smile bloomed across his face, and he kept to his feet, abandoning the remains of his french toast and snatching up his camera and phone, checking them over. Both of them had run out of battery, but aside from that they seemed to be in fine condition. As he looked them over, he asked

"What changed their minds?"

"I believe it was your fiancé, sir. Your parents have been on the phone with them all morning." His fiancé? Yuto froze in his ministrations, trying to take that unexpected piece of news in. His fiancé had bailed him out. What on earth could they have said to convince his stubborn parents to just let him go? Yuto had no idea; but he was amazed, and for the first time in his life he held some respect for his suitor. This newfound respect wasn't enough to keep him in that house any second longer, however, and so—after bidding goodbye to Raiya—he dashed out of the front doors, a limousine waiting by the steps to take him home.

On the way back all he could think about was how worried his friends had to be. Hopefully they weren't too mad. He couldn't wait to see them again. He had missed them greatly, and when he got out of the limousine, he was ready to celebrate being reunited, skipping through the hotel lobby and literally bouncing with excitement as he took the elevator up to the penthouse, bursting through the elevator doors as soon as he can squeeze through them. He was expecting to be met with the sight of his friends preparing dinner, Chinen sitting up on the counter or the dining table, trying to do as little as possible as Yamada and maybe Daiki cooked, light, comfortable conversation filling up the time as the smells of good food filled the air.

Yuto was instead met with the high pitched sounds of a distressed Chinen, his younger housemate's voice ringing through the space. Yuto blinked in confusion, glancing around, not seeing Chinen. Chinen's voice was followed by a much deeper one, a voice Yuto recognized to be Ryutaros. He blinked in surprise. What was going on? He stopped in the entryway, slipping off his shoes. He heard a gasp, glancing up to see that Yamada and Daiki had entered the living room, and then Yamada was running at him, pulling him in for a hug, and Yuto threw his arms around his friend, glad that this part of his fantasy had come true.

After a long moment Yamada pulled away, and Daiki leaned in, giving Yuto a hug, squeezing just as tightly as his boyfriend had, and as Yuto hugged Daiki he smiled over the older man's shoulder at Yamada, the model asking

"Yuto, what happened? Where the fuck have you been?" His hissed the words, his voice low, eyes wide, the reunion rather tainted when Ryutaro bellowed something, Yuto tensing up in surprise.

"I—I was at my parents. They, well...they found out about Keito, and they took me home." Yuto informed his friends, as Daiki pulled out of the hug.

"Damn." Daiki looked up at him, the two shorter men gazing at Yuto with matching concern in their eyes.

"Yeah." Yuto sighed, but then Ryutaro yelled again, and his attention was completely stolen by the couple fighting in some unseen room. "What's going on? Why're they yelling like that?" He'd never known Chinen to really fight with anyone, the tiny man’s charms winning over everyone he'd ever encountered effortlessly. Both Daiki and Yamada turned back to look in the direction of Chinen's bedroom.

"He's breaking up with Ryutaro." Yamada finally said, looking self conscious and a little upset himself. Daiki leaned in and wrapped an arm around Yamada's waist.

"We've already had gyoza brought up, and we're just waiting the yelling out, we figured he could use some friends once this ordeal is over." Daiki explained, Yuto nodding in understanding. It was nice of them to stay and support Chinen this time, instead of running away like they had when Chinen and Takaki had gotten into their fight.

"It was Dai-chan's idea." Yamada conceded, giving Daiki an affectionate glance, and Yuto smiled appreciatively at the older man. "We've been hanging out in my room. Let's all go back in there, you can tell us what the hell happened to you." Yamada offered, Yuto nodding and following them back, past Chinen's bedroom door. It had gotten immensely quiet inside, and it wasn't until they were all in Yamada's bedroom, the door closed, that Yuto whispered

"Yama-chan, can I borrow your charger?" Yamada pursed his lips, fixing Yuto with a disapproving look.

"It's Keito, isn't it?" It wasn't really a question. Yuto nodded, slightly embarrassed, and he felt the need to justify himself.

"My phone is dead, and I'm sure I freaked Keito out, disappearing on him like I did. We were supposed to meet for breakfast, and I missed it and he hadn't heard from me since. I need to tell him I'm okay, and apologize." Yamada didn't really acknowledge his excuses, but he didn't protest, just gesturing to his charging cord. Yuto thanked him, plugging in his phone before the three of them all sat around, and—with a little prompting from Daiki—he told them everything that had happened while he'd been away. He was just getting to the part about how he'd been allowed to go when there was the sound of Chinen's door opening, and they all fell silent, listening for the chime of the elevator doors before they stood and filed out, coming into the living room to see Chinen standing by the elevator doors, his back to them, but his shoulders shaking, and as they watched he collapsed in on himself.

It was then that the three of them all rushed to his side, enveloping him in their arms, and Yuto could hear him crying, could feel his little body shaking. Nondescript words of comfort fell from his lips, and next to him he could hear Daiki too murmuring to their younger friend, and after a few moments of crouching there on the floor in the entryway Daiki scooped Chinen up, Chinen clinging to him as Daiki wobbled over to the couch, setting into it, Chinen in his lap.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Daiki asked, and Chinen shook his head, his face a ruddy mess of snot and tears, and Daiki nodded, not saying anything and letting Chinen bury his face into his shirt. Yuto turned to Yamada, intending to indicate that they should join Daiki and Chinen on the couch, but he froze when he caught sight of the way that Yamada was looking at Daiki. He had seen them share glances of affection before, but this look, this purely awestruck look of wonder and love was something completely different, and as Yuto watched Yamada watch Daiki comfort Chinen he felt in that moment that he finally understood what it meant to love someone. It was a little humbling, and he blinked, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, and he looked away. But as he did so Yamada seemed to come to, and he moved to join Daiki on the couch, sitting by his boyfriend's side and leaning in, rubbing circles on Chinen's back.

It was at that moment that a phone started ringing, loud and shrill in the background, the tone one Yuto recognized as his own, and Yamada's head shot up, giving Yuto a very pointed look that clearly indicated that he needed to turn off the disruptive noise and give Chinen a chance to grieve without any distractions. Yuto rushed to Yamada's bedroom, scooping his phone up and quickly answering, intending to tell the caller that he'd have to call them back—Chinen was _crying_—whatever they had to say could wait.

"Hi, I'm sorry but—"

"Yuto?!" Yuto's breath caught in his throat at the sound of the familiar deep, gentle voice, and he couldn't help but notice the slightly watery edge it held, the anxiety layered into that one word, and he felt a wash of _want_ hit him. He wanted to see Keito so very badly in that moment.

"Keito, hi." He felt embarrassed, not sure what to say, or do. He needed to get back to his friends, back to Chinen, but it had been too long since he'd last heard Keito's voice, and the sound made something in his chest ache.

"Oh thank god, are you okay?! Is everything alright?" Keito sounded slightly frantic, and Yuto didn't blame him.

"I'm okay. I'm sorry I didn't meet you for breakfast, there was an issue with my family, and it's taken a while to sort out, and I've wanted to call you, but...but I couldn't, and I just got back less than an hour ago. But I'm fine. Sorry." The words tumbled out of his mouth in a rush, and he felt like the whole excuse was vague and poorly worded, and just generally lame, but Keito didn't press him.

"You're okay, that's the important part." Keito assured him. "I...I've been worried about you." There was a pause. "Are you busy? Can we get together? I want to see you. We could go to dinner or something, I know this nice Italian place we could go to. It's proper, authentic Italian food. I mean...if you want." Dinner with Keito sounded spectacular. It sounded like all Yuto wanted, but he couldn't just leave when Chinen was in the state he was in.

"Keito that sounds perfect but...I can't. Chinen just broke up with his boyfriend, and I'm on moral support duty tonight. This evening is strictly a pity party, and I can't bail on him. He's taking it really hard."

"Oh. Of course, you need to help Chinen." There was a small pause, the both of them understanding that Yuto really needed to go, but neither of them wanting to hang up, neither one wanting to sever this small tie they shared through the phone.

"I'm sorry." Yuto murmured, truly wanting nothing more than to meet Keito for dinner. To lay eyes on Keito's face, and feel Keito pull him into his arms.

"Yuto, you did nothing wrong. I—I shouldn't be keeping you from Chinen." There was another long silence, before Yuto sighed, resigning himself to his fate.

"I'll call you tomorrow, will you be free for dinner then? Or for anything?"

"I'm always free for you." Keito said, and Yuto felt a pang in his chest, a small blush coloring his cheeks.

"Thanks. Good night, Keito."

"Good night, Yuto." Yuto felt perfectly melancholy as he hung up the phone, and he wandered out to find that his friends hadn't moved, Chinen still sniveling in Daiki's lap. Yuto immediately stopped pitying himself. Chinen was more important. He could see Keito tomorrow. Chinen needed him now. And so, he let a smile bloom on his lips, and he dove into the couch, between Daiki and Yamada, whining dramatically

"Don't keep Chii all to yourselves! I want him!" He pulled Chinen in for a hug, the top half of the younger man ending up in Yuto's lap, while the bottom half was still in Daiki's. Daiki let out a yelp of surprise, one that quickly morphed into one of protest, and he grabbed at Chinen's knees, keeping him in place, declaring that Yuto couldn't have Chinen, eyes glinting with playfulness. Yuto appreciated Daiki playing along, and they showered Chinen with affection, the two of them continuing to play fight over the smaller man, wrestling over him. Daiki eventually won, pulling Chinen wholly back into his lap and wrapping his arms around Chinen's waist. It was at that moment that Yamada interjected, coming in from the kitchen with a big platter of gyoza.

"Chinen is going to choose me, because I have my secret weapon! I have the gyoza!" He declared dramatically, puffing out his cheeks and his chest in triumph, and it was then that Chinen finally cracked a smile, the three of them smiling back in relief at seeing it. Yamada set the tray of gyoza down right in Chinen's lap, handing him a pair of chopsticks. He disappeared back into the kitchen, reappearing with a second platter of the little dumplings, and Daiki whooped, as if in surprise, Chinen letting another small smile work its way onto his lips. Despite Daiki's excitement at the sight of food, he didn't actually manage to get much of any, because he refused to let Chinen off of his lap, insisting that Chinen was his prize for defeating Yuto earlier. Chinen didn't protest in the slightest, looking rather content there curled up in Daiki's arms.

They were halfway through the gyoza when the penthouse phone rang, everyone looking bewildered over at where it hung on the wall. Tentatively Yuto stood from where he'd ended up on the floor, crossing the room and picking the receiver up.

"Hello?" It was one of the hotel staff.

"Sorry to disturb you, especially at this hour Nakajima-san, but there's a man here asking to be let up to you. He claims that he has a gift for Chinen-san. He isn't one of your usual visitors, so we weren't sure if he was welcome." Yuto blinked in surprise, bewildered.

"What is it?" Yamada asked.

"There's someone downstairs that says he has a present for Chinen? The staff don't recognize him, so they want authorization before they let him come up." Yamada stared at him, bewildered. Then they both turned to Chinen.

"What do you want to do Chii? It's all up to you." To Yuto's surprise Chinen didn't hesitate.

"Let them up."


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you sure? We can tell them to go if you don't feel up to visitors." Yamada assured him, but Chinen brushed him off.

"I still look cute even if I'm crying, it'll be fine." Yuto smiled, and told the hotel staff member to let their visitor on up. All three of them turned expectantly to the elevator doors, Daiki squeezing Chinen a little and hooking his chin over Chinen's shoulder. The elevator doors let out a little ding, announcing the arrival of their surprise guest, and they slid back to reveal—to Yuto's great surprise—Keito. Keito stepped out of the elevator, looking immensely self conscious as his eyes swept over the room, visibly catching on Yuto for a moment, but he held out the box he had in his hands, and said

"I heard about what happened and...I brought cupcakes." He glanced anxiously over at Chinen. "Someone as cute as Chinen-san shouldn't be sad." That apparently was the right thing to say, because Chinen smiled, gesturing for Keito to come in, and Keito quickly slipped off his shoes, sending a quick glance Yuto's direction before walking over to where Chinen was situated on Daiki's lap, and setting the cupcakes down on the coffee table in front of Chinen, the tiny man indicating for Keito to sit next to Daiki, and before Yuto really knew what was happening Chinen had crawled into Keito's lap, Keito immediately wrapping Chinen in one of his signature bear hugs, pulling the petite man to his chest and enveloping him in his arms.

Keito sighed in relief at the positive reaction, tucking Chinen under his chin before looking up at Yuto. The whole room was silent, and after a few moments Keito said

"I don't want to intrude, I just wanted to make sure Chinen-san was okay."

"No. Stay." Chinen said. "I don't mind." His words were proven by the way he pressed himself into Keito's chest. Daiki smiled.

"The more the merrier, right Ryosuke?" It was then that Yuto caught Yamada glaring rather stonily at Keito. But at Daiki's words he smiled, nodding, his shoulders relaxing a bit, and Daiki motioned for his boyfriend to come closer, taking Yamada by the hand and smiling back, before turning his attention to the cupcakes and opening the box, before declaring "These look amazing! Chinen, look, they're cute and tiny, just like you!" Chinen snorted at Daiki's flattery, but he plucked a cupcake out of the box, peeling the paper back and biting into it, humming appreciatively. Keito smiled, and Yuto skirted around the couch to take the last free space on Keito's other side, the older man's eyes following him, a small smile on his face as Yuto sat down next to him. Their eyes met over Chinen's head, and Yuto couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

"Yuto, try the cupcakes Keito brought." Chinen said, drawing Yuto's attention. He nodded, leaning forward and plucking one out of their box and taking a big bite. Chinen grabbed a second one from the box for himself, leaning into Keito's chest, his eyes watery.

"It's good, Chii." Yuto confirmed, smiling at him. But the smile didn't make Chinen smile back. In fact it only seemed to bring him down, and Chinen nodded, looking into his lap for a moment before letting out a choked sob, the noise causing Keito to wrap his arms tighter around Chinen's little body. It was then that Chinen began to cry in earnest, curling into a little ball in Keito's lap, his cupcake being smeared across Keito's black shirt. But Keito paid it no mind, just rocking back and forth a bit and holding Chinen close, as Yuto and his friends cooed comforting words, leaning in to rub Chinen's back or run a soothing hand through his hair. Chinen just buried his face in Keito's chest, his shoulders shaking. He cried for a long time, and Yuto felt frustrated, because he didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he could do.

Eventually however, Chinen's tears slowed, and then stopped, and he pulled his face away from Keito's chest, still sniffling a bit, but much more composed. It was then that Daiki asked

"D'you want to watch a movie Chii? We could put on pajamas and roll futons out in front of the television. You can sleep right between Ryosuke and I tonight. How does that sound?" Yuto was amazed by Daiki's outstanding ability to nurture and comfort, and Chinen nodded, wiping at his eyes. Daiki smiled, not taking his eyes off of their little friend, and he said "What's your favorite movie?"

"I know what it is." Yamada declared, standing up and disappearing back deeper into the penthouse, returning with a DVD box set in his hands, and showing them. It was Chinen's special limited release concert DVD from Arashi's most recent tour, complete with over two hours of backstage footage, and exclusive music videos. It was quite possibly Chinen's most prized possession, and Yamada grinned in triumph when Chinen's eyes caught on the box, and he wiped at his cheeks, a small smile working its way onto his lips. He nodded silently, and Daiki beamed.

"Fantastic." He too got to his feet. "Okay, Ryo-chan and I will get the futons all set up and move the couch. Chii, get into your cutest pajamas, and Yuto—" He paused, thinking for a moment, before his eyes caught on Keito, and his icing smeared shirt. "—get Keito something to change into." Yuto nodded, standing, and Keito too stood, scooping Chinen up and carrying him, the action looking effortless, and Keito smiled down at Chinen, giving him a tight squeeze, and insisting on carrying him all the way to his bedroom, before depositing him at the door, Chinen entering alone and shutting himself inside. Yuto was relieved when the two of them were finally alone. It had been cute, the way Keito had cuddled Chinen, but Yuto had been slightly envious, wishing he'd been given a chance to curl into Keito's body, wanting to touch him, and feel the warm comfort he knew Chinen had felt wrapped up in Keito's arms.

Yuto kept these thoughts to himself, leading Keito to his bedroom and trying to pretend that it wasn't a big deal. Trying to pretend that he didn't just want to lock the two of them inside, and keep Keito all to himself, and just drown in Keito's broad chest and gentle voice and warm, comforting scent. It had been too long, too long since he'd last been able to lay eyes on Keito, to be able to reach out and touch him, and now that Keito was _right there_ he was even better than Yuto remembered. It took all of Yuto's willpower to focus on the task at hand, on the fact that they were supposed to be quick, so as to get back out to Chinen, and Yamada, and Daiki. All of those thoughts went completely out the window when—once in the privacy of his own room—Keito reached out, placing a warm hand on Yuto's shoulder.

"Yuto." Yuto turned around, to face Keito, unable to keep from letting his eyes wander over Keito's face, taking it in properly. Keito smiled, their eyes locking, and neither of them looked away, just standing there, and Yuto's stomach was tying itself in knots, but he felt flushed with happiness, when Keito opened his mouth and said quietly "I've missed you." Yuto moved to throw his arms around Keito in a hug, ready to finally pull the older man close, but Keito suddenly took a step back, one arm out to stop him, and Yuto blinked in surprise, the rejection hitting him sharply in the stomach. But then Keito blushed, gesturing to his shirt. "The icing." He explained, indicating the area of his button down that Chinen had accidentally smeared his cupcake across, and it was Yuto's turn to be embarrassed.

"Oh, right. Let me get you something else." Yuto felt like an idiot, and he turned away, digging into his closet. He pulled out his baggiest sleep shirt, and a pair of pajama pants, turning around to see that Keito had taken the initiative to take his soiled shirt off, the other man in the process of folding it up, his muscular arms and chest—tanned from the summer sun—sending a warm shiver down Yuto's spine, and he felt his heart pounding in his chest as Keito caught his eye and smiled. But he felt himself smiling back, as he offered Keito the clothes. Keito didn't take them, instead closing the space between the two of them and finally pulling Yuto in for that hug, his arms so tight around Yuto's torso that for a few moments Yuto couldn't breathe. But Yuto just squeezed him back, feeling Keito bury his face into his shoulder, the older man's lips curving into a smile against Yuto's neck, and Yuto took a deep breath, relishing the scent of Keito's cologne, and the feeling of Keito's warm chest against his own.

"It's been too long." Yuto told him, once they separated. Keito nodded in agreement, before finally taking the pajamas from Yuto's hands.

"We don't want to miss the movie." Keito said, the words reminding Yuto of their situation. Yuto nodded.

"Right. I'll just grab something to sleep in, and I'll meet you out there, okay?" Keito smiled, nodding too, and after snatching some clothes from his drawers, Yuto scurried to the bathroom, changing and returning to the living room, to see that Daiki and Yamada had shoved the couch and coffee table back, laying out futons on the floor with blankets and pillows in one big nest, Yamada in the process of starting the Arashi DVD, as Daiki sat chatting with Chinen, the younger boy looking picturesque in a set of plaid sleepwear, his head tucked into Daiki's shoulder. Yuto smiled, sitting on Daiki's other side, and as he took his seat Keito emerged, Yuto liking the way that he looked in Yuto's clothes, the bright blue outfit something he doubted Keito would pick for himself. With all of them assembled, Yamada started the DVD, curling into Chinen's other side, as on the television Arashi fans screamed.

Chinen was actually the first one to fall asleep. Emotionally drained, and snuggled up between Daiki and Yamada, he barely made it halfway through the first DVD, Yamada and Daiki falling asleep just before the credits rolled, the couple cocooning Chinen as if he were their child. Yuto smiled at the sight, he himself tired, but unable to fall asleep, too aware of Keito's body lying on the floor next to his, too aware of the way their shoulders barely touched whenever either of them shifted even the tiniest amount. But then Keito said quietly

"Yuto, can I hold you?" Yuto shifted, rolling over in the darkness to look at Keito's face, thoughts of _what his parents would say_ suddenly flashing through his mind, but where before those thoughts would have struck him with fear, looking at Keito's face, barely outlined in the darkness, he felt nothing but content.

"Yeah, c'mere." He sensed Keito shifting in the darkness, and then Keito's body was pressed up against his, one arm slung over Yuto's shoulders, pulling him in close. Yuto buried his face into Keito's chest, feeling the pulse of Keito's heartbeat, and it felt so perfect, so natural, that it wasn't long before Yuto too was fast asleep. Yet, despite being one of the last ones up, he found himself the first one to rise, eyes opening at the break of dawn, and he found himself wide awake, pressed up against Keito, their faces millimeters apart. Keito himself was still fast asleep, and Yuto was content to just lay there for a little while, in Keito's arms, feeling the rise and fall of Keito's chest against his own, and the way Keito had him wrapped up in his arms, still somehow secure despite the lack of any noticeable grip. He couldn't help but smile, and he murmured, the words falling from his lips without any hesitation or insecurity

"I love you." Keito didn't move, didn't even twitch, still fast asleep, but it felt good to finally say the words out loud, to voice this culmination of his feelings. He tried to shift into another, more comfortable position, and maybe attempt to go back to sleep. His movements however caused Keito to wake momentarily and do some shifting of his own, the older man's grip around Yuto's waist tightening, as he leaned forward, their foreheads touching. The angle Yuto's neck was at was rather uncomfortable, and he cringed, twisting in Keito's grip. It didn't take long before the two of them were both awake, Keito immediately releasing Yuto and apologizing for the cuddling, his cheeks pink as he asked if he'd made Yuto uncomfortable. Yuto just smiled, leaning forward and running a hand through Keito's hair where it was flipped up on one side, assuring Keito that he'd slept fine. "I really liked it." He couldn't help but tack on at the end, Keito giving him a look of relief.

The other three were still fast asleep there in a pile on the floor, and Yuto smiled, pulling himself to his feet and stretching, announcing

"I'm going to start on breakfast." Keito immediately got to his feet.

"I'll help you." He offered, Yuto smiling and nodding, taking Keito by the hand and pulling him into the kitchen. "What are we going to make?" Keito asked, blinking the last remnants of sleep out of his eyes. It was a good question, Yuto pondering the answer for a moment, before he settled on french toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon, flitting around the kitchen to get everything they would need, opening and closing drawers and cabinets, spreading it all out on the counter top. Keito watched him, a smile on his face, and the longer this went on, the bigger that smile grew, Yuto eventually stilling and asking

"What?"

"You're just really cute." Keito said, taking a few steps forward, so that he was next to Yuto in front of the counter, and he let his gaze sweep over everything Yuto had gathered, before nodding and offering "I'll start...um...I'll make the egg mixture for the toast." Yuto nodded, not really listening, still stuck on the compliment Keito had paid him, flustered. But he shook it off and began slicing bread for the toast, launching into a story about how the last time his friends had made french toast Chinen had nearly managed to slice off one of Yamada's fingers, regaling the tale lightheartedly as they worked, Keito giggling at his animated explanations as he mixed the ingredients they needed to batter the toast with in a bowl.

Conversation flowed easily between the two of them once Yuto assured Keito that they weren't going to wake the others still sleeping in the adjoined room. and they laughed and joked as they cooked, Yuto feeling intensely happy when Keito would giggle, the older man stopping in flipping the toast on the skillet to laugh, his shoulders shaking, one hand coming up to over his mouth. Their bodies got progressively closer and closer as they cooked, a twenty centimeter gap quickly turning into shoulders brushing and hips bumping as they moved around the kitchen. Keito would lean into Yuto's side, so that everything from their shoulders to their hips were touching, one arm snaking around Yuto's waist as he talked, and Yuto found himself leaning back, the action natural. He couldn't help but feel comfortable around Keito. But it was more than just comfortable, he felt _safe,_ as if Keito was a sanctuary, as if he'd finally found the place he belonged, pressed up against Keito's side.


	12. Chapter 12

Breakfast was finished without any major mishaps, although some of the bacon burned, Yuto having been too involved in a story Keito was telling about his boarding school in England to realize that it needed to be flipped. They got the table set, and the food laid out, before anyone else stirred, Keito asking meekly

"Should we wake them up?" Yuto checked the clock. It was properly morning now, but Chinen probably would be able to sleep for another two hours at least, Yamada would be grumpy if he was woken up, and Yuto wasn't actually sure he could get Daiki up. Daiki always was an obstinate sleeper. He shook his head.

"Let them sleep. It will be more peaceful all around if we just let them wake up on their own." He decided, Keito nodding, waiting for Yuto to sit before doing so himself, loading Yuto's plate up with food before serving himself. It wasn't long before they were joined by Yamada, the shorter man untangling himself from Daiki and Chinen and padding into the kitchen, slumping into a chair, his head hung low, obviously not fully awake. Keito immediately hopped up, serving Yamada breakfast, placing a plate piled in food in front of him. Yamada just blinked blearily at it for a moment before picking up his fork, his movements slow as he began to feed himself. Keito smiled, Yuto catching his eye, the two of them stifling giggles as they watched just how sluggish Yamada was moving, Yuto shoving a huge piece of his french toast into his mouth in an attempt to keep from outright laughing.

He and Keito finished their breakfasts quickly, Keito declaring that he should be going, not wanting to overstay his welcome any more than he already had. Yuto felt a pang of disappointment run through his chest, but he nodded, Keito disappearing into Yuto's bedroom to change back into his clothes, Yuto watching him go, wishing that circumstances were different. Wishing that Keito could stay.

"You really love him, don't you?" Yamada's voice pulled Yuto's focus away from Keito's retreating back, snapping him harshly back to the present. His friend was looking at him seriously, face blank of any emotion as he studied Yuto. Yuto felt guilty, knowing he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't, but he nodded.

"I do. I really do." Yamada nodded, picking at his eggs with his fork, obviously in deep contemplation for a few moments, before he said "Yuto, I know that I haven't been the most supportive of your...relationship...with Keito, but..." He looked up at Yuto, gaze strong. "You know that I'm on your side right? No matter what happens." Yuto nodded, Yamada's words washing over him wrapped in an intense wave of relief, and he smiled a bit, saying

"Thanks." Yamada nodded, as Keito came back, dressed in his clothes from the night before, icing and all. Yuto frowned, standing and catching Keito's attention. "I completely forgot about your shirt, I'm sorry." He leaned in, fingers working the buttons out of their holes. "Here, we'll wash it and return it to you, and for now you can borrow one of mine, yeah?" Keito was blushing a little, but he nodded, hands finding Yuto's own, where they'd worked their way down to the middle of his chest, taking over unbuttoning, and Yuto pulled back, leading Keito back into his bedroom and searching through his closet, finding Keito a t-shirt and handing it to him. Keito thanked him, pulling the garment over his head. It was a bit tight on his chest and shoulders, but it seemed to fit well enough, and Yuto nodded, flashing Keito a thumbs up. Keito smiled, rolling up the sleeves casually as they made their way back out to the front room. Daiki and Chinen were still fast asleep on the floor, and Yamada had disappeared into another part of the penthouse.

"Thank you for everything." Keito whispered, careful to not wake the sleepers. "I hope I wasn't intruding." Yuto scoffed.

"Everyone liked you, I promise." Keito nodded, slipping on his shoes and opening his arms for a goodbye hug. Yuto melted into his arms, the hug lasting longer than any previous, both reluctant to let go. Gradually they pulled away, arms still loosely wrapped around each other, but their faces a hair apart. Yuto's heart was pounding in his chest, and before he could reason himself out of it, he leaned in, pressing a kiss to Keito's lips. Keito sighed into it, his arms tightening around Yuto's shoulders, pulling him in, a rush of pure happiness washing over Yuto as their lips worked against each other. When the kiss broke, Keito was smiling, Yuto feeling a grin blooming on his lips despite himself, and with murmured goodbyes Keito got into the elevator, catching Yuto's hand and giving it one final squeeze before the doors shut, and he was gone.

Yuto's heart was racing, his lips tingling from the contact, his whole body lit up with an electricity unlike anything he'd ever experienced, his thoughts a dazed fumbling loop of the sensation of Keito's lips on his. Of Keito's arms strong around him, pulling him closer. He didn't have much time with his thoughts however, Daiki waking within a few moments of Keito's departure, the older man grunting and pulling himself to a sitting position as Yuto looked for something to do, somewhere to be, that wouldn't arouse any suspicions as to what had just happened. Daiki was still bleary eyed, and he didn't seem to notice just how flustered Yuto was, groaning and trudging over to the kitchen table, getting himself some breakfast.

Yuto joined him at the table, Yamada eventually emerging from the bathroom, obviously having just gotten out of the shower, and the three of them sat around the table, chatting while Daiki ate, keeping the older man company. The lack of a warm body next to him seemed to rouse Chinen, the tiny man stretching like a cat, his hair in his face, and he just laid there on the floor, blinking sleep out of his eyes and staring at the ceiling. Eventually however, he too made his way over to the table, and instead of sitting in his usual chair he plopped down in Yamada's lap, Yuto getting him breakfast, Chinen remaining silent throughout the meal, his face void of any tells about how he was feeling. It wasn't until after he'd cleared his plate that he spoke, saying quietly

"I've got to call Yuya." He was fiddling with something on his hand, and for the first time Yuto noticed that he was wearing his engagement ring, the silver band with its encrusted diamonds resting on his finger, a silent message. Chinen was spinning it around his finger with his thumb, as if he wasn't used to the weight of it. He didn't even seem to notice that he was playing with it, and he got to his feet, his movements sluggish, as if his body was heavy, a serious look on his face. He wandered back into his bedroom, the three of them watching him go, and Yamada sighed.

"He's still upset." Daiki nodded.

"It'll probably be a few days before he starts feeling better. But he'll be okay." Daiki assured them. Yuto nodded, wishing that there was some way to make Chinen happy _now._ The three of them got started cleaning up, washing the dishes and putting all leftover food in the fridge, as well as moving the furniture back to it's original arrangement, taking the mound of pillows and blankets and returning them all to their beds and linens closets. They cheered up as they worked, Yamada and Daiki sharing sweet words and quick kisses when they thought Yuto wasn't looking. It was cute, Yuto wondering vaguely when they were going to announce their own engagement. Perhaps after Daiki graduated.

Shortly after the penthouse had been restored to it's original condition there was a chime, the elevator announcing the arrival of a new guest, before the doors slid open, revealing Takaki Yuya. He'd obviously come straight there, as soon as Chinen had called him, dressed in ripped jeans and a plain white t-shirt, his copper colored hair hanging unstyled around his handsome face.

"Hi, where's Yuri?" He asked, slipping off his shoes.

"Here." Chinen's voice called, everyone turning to see him standing at the end of the hallway, still in his pajamas, his eyes red. He'd been crying again. But as he locked eyes with Takaki his lips curved in a small smile, and Takaki _beamed,_ rushing across the room and scooping Chinen up into his arms, spinning him around.

"I'm so happy Yuri." Takaki said, his voice low, as he set Chinen down, his arms still around his petite fiancé. He cupped Chinen's face with one hand, thumb running gently through the tear tracks on his cheeks. "I'll make you happy too. I promise." Chinen nodded, his face screwing up again, and he let out a choked sob, Takaki immediately pulling him back in for a hug, picking him up off of his feet and carrying Chinen over to the couch, sitting and cradling Chinen in his arms, letting him cry for a little while before leaning in and pressing their lips together. Yuto could feel the blush spreading on his cheeks, feeling like he was witnessing something very private, and he tip toed out of the room, hopping in the shower.

The rest of the day was spent quietly. Yuto texted Keito throughout, telling Keito about how Takaki had shown up shortly after Keito had left. Keito responded sporadically; apparently the older man was spending his day going in and out of meetings; Keito explaining that evening that it had to do with his future living accommodations, after he graduated from university. Keito didn't ask Yuto about the kiss, and Yuto was relieved, not sure what he would have said. He loved Keito, and he _definitely_ wanted to do that again, but he still had the situation with his family, and his fiancé, to deal with. To make a decision about.

He had a lot to think about; and now—now that he had kissed Keito—the decision was weighing even more heavily down on his shoulders than it ever had. It wasn't really what Keito would think of Yuto's family that concerned him, it was his parents’ thoughts. After the small imprisonment at his family home he was positive there was no way his parent's would accept Keito, or any relationship Yuto wanted with the older man. He was positive that if he chose to be with Keito, despite their disapproval, it would be extremely detrimental to his father's company, and to his family's reputation. It wouldn't be something they could just sweep under the rug, and Yuto had a feeling that it would be the last straw, and his parents would disown him, if for no other reason than to try and save face. The question was _is Keito worth that?_ He was really starting to think that Keito was, but there was a nagging fear, a quiet little unsure voice in his head, because _what if he was wrong?_

Yuto didn't see Keito again until the end of the week, the two both busy with their own individual lives, but they kept in near constant contact, ending every day with a phone call. It was during one of these phone calls that Keito asked

"Yuto, are you free this Sunday?" He suddenly sounded a little shy, the question a little choppy, his accent even stronger than usual.

"Yup!"

"I was thinking, if you would like to...it's summer, and it could be fun if we go to the beach. I could pick you up, and we could take a picnic, and barbecue, and swim. If you want."

"Keito, that sounds amazing." Yuto declared honestly, completely surprised by the offer, but immediately taking to the idea. It would be fantastic to spend some time at the beach, out in the sun, and to spend it with Keito would make it absolutely perfect.

"Great. I'll come and get you...how's two o'clock sound?"

"Sounds great; Keito this is the best idea." Keito chuckled, the sound warm in Yuto's ear.

"Good. I'm looking forward to it."

From that point on Sunday couldn't come fast enough. Yuto was immensely excited about the beach trip, unable to keep from mentioning it nearly every day. And so, on that Sunday morning he didn't have time to open his mouth before Yamada said

"Your date with Keito is today, right?" Yuto started at the word _date,_ and he sputtered about how it wasn't a date, not _really_ it was just an _outing,_ before Yamada rolled his eyes. "He's picking you up, taking you to the beach, and feeding you. No one else is coming, and you're in love. Yuto, those are more than enough qualifications for this *_outing_ to be a date." He paused. "Unless you think he doesn't have feelings for you too, which is stupid." If anything, that just made Yuto's blush deepen.

"No. I know he likes me too. I mean...I'm pretty sure." That made Yamada raise his eyebrows, the younger man looking at Yuto shrewdly.

"Something happened." It wasn't a question, really.

"I kind of...kissed him...when he came over the other day." Yuto admitted. "He...uh...responded well, so..." Yamada nodded, silent for a moment, before saying lightly

"I think it's pretty safe to say he likes you then." He clapped Yuto on the shoulder, passing by on his way to the shower, calling behind him "Have fun on your date!" Yuto spent the whole morning preparing. He spent over half an hour just digging through his closet, and then over an hour picking out which camera he wanted to bring with him to document the event. Then he showered and shaved, primped, and got to work packing a small cooler of fruit to bring with them to the beach. Keito had said something about barbecue, and a picnic, but Yuto wanted to contribute to the day in some manner, and not leave everything up to Keito to figure out. He was in the middle of chopping up a watermelon when he got a text from Keito, the older man informing him that he was on his way.


	13. Chapter 13

Yuto was finishing cutting the last apple into bunny shapes when there was that telltale chime of the elevator, and he abandoned the fruit to greet Keito, the older man stepping out of the elevator in black and red swim trunks and a white tank top, a smile on his face as Yuto greeted him with a hug.

"I'm nearly done." Yuto told him, as Keito slipped off his shoes. "Just let me do the last two's ears." Keito treated him to a small look of confusion, but the older man followed Yuto dutifully into the kitchen, past where Yuto had gathered his camera and other beach trip essentials in a bag on the table, to the array of fruit he had in and around the small hand held cooler he was preparing for their trip. Yuto returned to his apple bunnies, and Keito smiled, asking

"Are these for us?" Yuto nodded.

"I thought fruit might be good for the beach. And you're doing so much, I wanted to do something." He explained, catching Keito's eye and smiling back, as he finished up the last apple bunny. They cleaned up the kitchen together, and once all of the fruit was in the cooler Keito took it in his hand, offering the other hand to Yuto, and together they left the penthouse, Yuto asking as the elevator doors closed around them "So which beach are we going to?"

"I have a family friend that has a small private beach, I thought that could be fun. Unless you have somewhere in mind? I still don't know too many places around here." Keito explained, as they reached the hotel lobby, the two smiling at the staff as they left.

"Awesome! How are we going to get there?" Yuto didn't have a car, and although most places public transport served well enough, if they were going to a private beach, they could have some transportation problems. Keito just smiled, leading Yuto out the doors and around the side of the hotel, to the parking area. When he spoke again, his voice rang with excitement.

"My car finally got here! I was having it transported over from England, and it took a while to get it cleared through customs, but..." He pointed, indicating a powder blue Jaguar XJ Series II sitting in a nearby parking spot. "...now I can drive us." Yuto stared at the shining vehicle for a moment. He didn't know much about cars, but the vehicle was beautiful, shining there in the afternoon sun. Keito was obviously proud of it, smiling a bit at Yuto's reaction. "It used to be my dad's." Keito told him as they approached. "It's been through a couple of paint jobs since then, but aside from that it's pretty much the same." He opened the back door, putting the cooler, and Yuto's bag, inside, and pulling his keys out of his pocket. "You ready, Yuto?"

"Yeah...can we do a photo shoot with your car sometime?" He found himself asking, as he slid into the passenger seat. "It's almost as pretty as you are." He teased, and Keito giggled, starting the car and turning on the air conditioning, but he nodded.

"Of course." The drive to the beach was a little under an hour, the two chatting, singing along to the radio, and playing word games as Keito drove. It was fun, Yuto taking pictures of Keito as they sped down the expressway, pointing out various landmarks and explaining their significance, Keito listening and commenting on occasion. They arrived at the beach right at three o'clock, Yuto getting excited and pointing out the window at the first sight of the ocean, making Keito laugh. He hadn't realized just how much he'd wanted to go to the beach until he'd seen the sand and the waves, and as soon as the car stopped Yuto was out, dashing toward the sand, calling for Keito to hurry up after him.

Keito watched him run, a smile on his face, but he didn't follow, instead pulling a blanket, cooler, and picnic basket out of his trunk, slowly making his way over to the beach. Yuto barely had his toes in the water before he turned around, running back and hastily helping Keito set their little area up before Yuto caught Keito's eye, a playful grin blooming on his lips, adrenaline pumping through his veins, as he declared

"Catch me if you can!" Keito yelled in surprise as Yuto took off, down the beach, and after a moment he followed, chasing after Yuto, their feet pounding on the wet sand. Yuto couldn't help but throw a quick glance over his shoulder to see that the lead he had was mostly due to the fact that Keito hadn't started to chase after him until he'd removed his shirt, his bare chest gleaming in the sun. Yuto promptly tripped over his own feet. Keito looking mildly concerned for a moment, before his brow furrowed in determination, and his pace sped up. Yuto giggled, getting to his feet and tearing down the beach, but it wasn't long before suddenly Keito's body slammed into him, the two of them thrown into the sand, Keito's arms wrapped tightly around his torso, as Keito declared

"Got you." Yuto looked up into Keito's eyes, trying to get his breath back, the older man's body heavy on top of his, but not enough to be uncomfortable. Keito was smiling down at him, his thick hair whirling around his face in the gentle breeze, warm brown eyes brimming in affection, and one second they were centimeters apart, the next Keito had leaned in, placing a kiss on Yuto's lips so chaste that Yuto wasn't sure if it had actually happened. But Yuto's heart was pounding in his chest, and Keito had a pink tint to his cheeks now. Keito rolled off of Yuto, pulling himself to his feet and offering Yuto a hand up. They walked at a much slower pace back in the direction of the car and their blanket, Keito seeming self conscious after the kiss, keeping a safe distance between them as they walked. Yuto reached out, and he took Keito's hand, twining their fingers together.

Keito smiled, his body visibly relaxing, and happiness burst in Yuto's chest. Love for the man next to him was overflowing, spilling out of the gaps between his teeth when he smiled and out of his tear ducts and the pores of his skin. He stopped, pulling on Keito's hand, whirling Keito around, and pulling him in for another kiss, tilting his head and leaning in close as he counted in his head _three,_ their lips moulding against each other. As the afternoon wore on he quickly lost count, so wrapped up in Keito that most other thoughts were fleeting at best. They spent the first hour or so on the beach, writing their names in the sand and collecting seashells. Yuto got his camera from the car, taking pictures of everything Keito did, until Keito put a hand on Yuto's shoulder, saying

"Let me get some of you." The camera was eventually returned to their blanket, and they ended up in the ocean, wading out until their feet could no longer touch the bottom, and then swimming out just a little bit more, talking and laughing. Yuto found himself howling with laughter when Keito stepped on some unidentified slimy _thing,_ the older man shrieking in surprise, and starting, jolting harshly away from the slippery mystery object. They played and swam out in the water as the sun made it's way across the sky, and it was only once his limbs started to get tired that Yuto began to paddle back to shore, Keito following in his stead.

They wandered back to their blanket, Yuto sprawling out on it belly first, the warm surface heating his wet skin, and he sighed contentedly, folding his arms and resting his head on them, looking over at Keito. Keito was standing in front of the sun, and he smiled at Yuto, running a hand through his long hair, still wet and salty from the ocean, and Yuto was just thinking about picturesque he looked when Keito leaned down, scooping up Yuto's camera and snapping a quick picture of Yuto, saying as he checked the image he'd captured on the camera's screen.

"You're so beautiful." Yuto felt something light and jittery in his chest, and he giggled, kicking his feet a bit as he buried his face into the blanket. Keito chucked at his antics, setting the camera back down and instead going into one of his bags, pulling out a small grill, and charcoal. Yuto rolled onto his back, watching with curiosity as Keito set the tiny contraption up, and started a fire, before digging into the cooler he'd brought, emerging with strips of raw meat, and laying them out on the grill, the fat sizzling as he sat down. Yuto's stomach growled in anticipation, and he sat up, leaning into Keito and resting his head on Keito's broad shoulder.

"Is this the barbecue? It's so cute!" Keito nodded, bopping Yuto on the nose with one finger.

"It will be ready soon. D'you want to get the fruit, and some plates?" Yuto wrapped his arms around Keito's waist, sighing contentedly.

"In a minute." He murmured, placing a kiss on Keito's bare shoulder, letting his eyes flutter shut, and using his other senses to feel Keito. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face, and as he felt Keito's hot skin and thick muscles under his fingertips he decided that this had to be the most perfect moment in his life. But then Keito shifted, and Yuto's eyes popped open just in time for Keito to press their lips together, and _this_ Yuto revised, had to be the most perfect moment in his life. It was over too fast, Keito turning his attention back to the grill and yelping, moving to turn the meat over before it burned, his eyes wide, movements flustered. How cute it was made Yuto giggle before he got to his feet, digging into his cooler full of fruit, pulling the containers out, along with their plates and chopsticks, and returning to Keito's side.

They ate the fruit as Keito cooked, Yuto pressing cool cubes of melon and slices of peach to Keito's lips, Keito sometimes accidentally taking one of Yuto's fingers into his mouth with the fruit. Whenever that would happen Yuto found that he had to look away, something immensely erotic in that image, that made a new, warm feeling stir in his chest. Soon, however, the meat was done, and Keito repaid him by feeding him strips of piping hot barbecue, the older man smiling as Yuto groaned around the pieces of meat, expressing his gratitude with loud, enthusiastic noises. They ate until all of the food was gone, and the sun was nearly set, dusk painting the sky in oranges and purples, and Yuto lamented for a moment that he'd forgotten to take pictures.

But then Keito wrapped an arm around Yuto's waist, murmuring something about _'beautiful'_ in Yuto's ear, and Yuto leaned in, kissing Keito with everything that he had, his arms wrapping around Keito's shoulders, before he crawled into Keito's lap, their chests bumping as he leaned in, this angle much better, and captured Keito's lips again. They kissed like that, wrapped up in each other, as the sun sank into the ocean, nothing but skin and sand and the fabric of their swim trunks between them, and it wasn't until Yuto realized that he could no longer see much of anything, the sky dark, that they paused, Keito's arms loosening around Yuto's waist, his chest heaving, a smile on his face. Yuto removed himself from Keito's lap, lying next to him on his back, taking a few deep breaths, his lips still tingling, endorphins rushing through his body. After a moment, Keito laid down next to him, their shoulders touching, and he took Yuto's hand in his, saying quietly

"The stars are pretty." Yuto blinked, turning his attention up to the sky. It was amazing, just how many stars he could see, the sky spattered with them, hundreds more than the handful he could see from his bedroom window. He was immediately transfixed, eyes wandering over the twinkling little balls of gas, burning further away than he could possibly perceive. "This is one of the reasons I wanted to bring you here." Keito told him. "The only thing I could remember about this place was that you could see the stars really well, since it's so far from the city."

"It's amazing." Yuto told him. They fell into silence for a moment. "Keito, this whole day has been amazing." Keito didn't say anything, but his grip on Yuto's hand tightened. They laid there for a while, until Yuto yawned, and Keito said

"It's getting late. I'll take you home."

"But, Keito this is so..." Yuto didn't finish his sentence, Keito leaning in and placing a short kiss on his lips.

"We can come back. We could do this every summer, if you want." Keito told him. "I'll bring you here again someday, I promise." Keito murmured, his voice close in the darkness, and Yuto nodded, the words enough to get him on his feet. They stumbled around in the dark, their efforts almost comical, but eventually they had everything packed away, and they trekked back to Keito's car, and once they had their things all inside they took to the road, and headed toward home. It was a quiet drive, neither of them really wanting to acknowledge that the day trip was over, and that they'd have to part ways soon.

Keito drove with one hand, his other one taking Yuto's across the console, his thumb rubbing lazy circles over Yuto's knuckles as he drove. It felt good, and Yuto didn't remember drifting off to sleep, but one moment he was watching Keito's face illuminated in the yellow lights along the expressway, and the next he was opening his eyes, the car parked in front of the hotel he called home. He blinked in confusion, Keito smiling amusedly at him from the driver's seat, and the older man murmured, as if talking to a child

"Yuto, we're here." Yuto grunted in affirmation of his understanding, not feeling awake enough for proper speech, and that made Keito chuckle. "C'mon Yuto, you need to sleep in your bed." He said, leaning in and unclipping Yuto's seat belt for him.

"Thank you." Yuto finally got out, his voice raspy with sleep, and Keito leaned in, placing a kiss on Yuto's forehead.

"Anything for you." Keito murmured lowly, lips still pressed into Yuto's hair, and Yuto sighed, really not wanting to move, before Keito pulled away, and he finally turned to his door, pushing it open and stepping out of the car and into the hot summer night. He looked up at the sky, disappointed to see that the light pollution from the city blocked out nearly all of the stars in the sky. He walked around the car, and Keito rolled his window down, saying "Good night, Yuto." Yuto leaned into the car, giving Keito one last kiss, saying

"Drive safe." Keito nodded, Yuto taking a step back, waving and turning away, going inside. Eyes still heavy with sleep, he barely made it to his room, stumbling into some pajama pants before crashing into his mattress, and falling back asleep almost instantly.


	14. Chapter 14

That morning, despite being the last one asleep Yuto was the first one awake. He lay in his bed, the sunlight streaming through his blinds in blocks of light, casting stripes on his bare chest as he thought about his date the day before. It seemed like a dream, like something too good to be true, but the salt still in his hair, and the images on his camera proved that it was more than just a dream, and he closed his eyes, letting himself relive the events of the day in his memories. Yesterday had been the happiest he'd ever been in his entire life. Yesterday had been everything he'd ever wanted, and then some. Yesterday had been exactly what he'd needed, to make his decision. Any doubts he'd been harboring about choosing Keito—about taking a stand against his parents wishes—were gone. Because happiness like that, _love_ like that, was worth fighting for, he was sure.

He lay there, reliving the way Keito had smiled at him, the way Keito's lips had felt on his own, until he heard someone moving in the kitchen, and he got up, going to investigate the source of the noise. It was Yamada, the smaller man pattering around the kitchen, an omelette sizzling on the stove, a spatula in his hand. He greeted Yuto, still looking rather tired, his eyes glassy. Yuto grinned, still feeling overwhelmingly happy after his perfect day yesterday, and got himself a glass of milk, sitting with Yamada as his friend took his breakfast over to the table.

"Takaki and Chinen set a date for their wedding." Yamada informed him. "They gave me the announcement yesterday. There's one for you too, over by the television." He gestured. "It's going to be next June; Takaki said something about then being optimal beach weather." Yamada shrugged. Yuto raised his eyebrows in surprise; he hadn't expected an announcement so soon after Chinen had dumped Ryutaro. Yamada seemed to understand his train of thought, catching his eye and shrugging. He took another bite, and they fell into silence for a few moments, before Yamada asked "So, how was your date?" Yuto felt the smile blooming on his lips, the thought of yesterday making him feel amazingly _happy_.

"Good." Yamada raised his eyebrows at him.

"I'll say; you're glowing." He smirked. "And there's a hickey on your neck." Yuto blushed, one hand coming up to his throat, feeling around, as if he could find the offending red mark by touch alone. Yamada laughed. "Was it really that good?" Yuto found himself nodding vigorously.

"It was amazing Yama-chan. Everything was perfect, and he was just so...He's everything I've ever wanted. He's better. I've never met anyone as thoughtful as Keito. As precious and strong and gentle as Keito. I can't even describe how he makes me feel, it's just..." Yuto waved his hands around vaguely. "Right." He knew he was blushing a bit, embarrassed by his confession, but it was the truth. Yamada nodded in understanding.

"That feeling? That's how I feel when I'm with Daiki." He murmured, eyes cast downward as he picked at the remnants of his omelette. Yuto sighed, propping his head up in one hand, feeling content, feeling happy, but then Yamada asked "So, what does this mean? Are you going to tell your parents you won't marry that other person? The Nishi person." The table was suddenly very serious, Yamada staring holes into him, and Yuto felt the smile drop off of his face at the mention of his fiancé, but he took a deep breath, nodding.

"Yeah. I think I will."

As if in response to his decision, Yuto received a call from his mother later that afternoon, and she—after some pleasantries and small talk were exchanged—proposed once again that he meet with his fiancé. He opened his mouth to protest, to declare that there was no way he was _ever_ going to meet with this person, when he remembered what the manservant at his parents' house had told him, when Yuto was released from his imprisonment. His fiancé was the reason he was here, back in his home with his friends. They had gone out of their way for him, and he'd never done anything to earn any acts of kindness from them. The least he could do was thank them. He could take this opportunity to thank his finacé for their consideration, and politely explain to them why he couldn't marry them. It was the right thing to do, and he found himself telling his mother that he would be happy to go out to dinner or something with his fiancé.

She was obviously surprised, her voice high with shock, but she praised him thoroughly for his decision, telling him that she would get everything scheduled, and get back to him with a date and time for the meeting. He agreed, feeling slightly anxious as he ended the call. This was it. He'd made his decision; the wheels were in motion. Soon there would be no turning back. That feeling only intensified when his mother called him again the following morning, informing him that he had dinner reservations at some extremely fancy restaurant downtown for the following Friday, at seven o'clock. She'd booked them a private room, insisting that the whole thing would be _very romantic,_ and even said that she was designing him a new outfit for the occasion. Yuto barely managed to thank her, the words getting stuck behind the lump in his throat.

His mother wasn't the only one doing last minute planning they found, as a week before Yuto's big dinner with his fiancé they received a call from Yabu, their friend informing them that he and Hikaru were throwing a _proper engagement_ party for Takaki and Chinen in a few days, and they asked if Yamada, Yuto, and Daiki could please attend. They promised the older man that they would, of course, be there, Yamada sounding a little sad when after he got off the phone he turned to Yuto and said

"Chinen's going to be leaving soon."

"Leaving?" Yuto asked, confused.

"Yeah. He's not going to keep living here once he and Takaki-kun are married. They'll have a house of their own." He fell silent for a few moments. "Maybe I should move out too. It's about time Dai-chan and I start living together anyway." Yuto didn't like that idea. He didn't want to be alone.

"Why doesn't Daiki just move in here with us once Chinen leaves? This place is bigger than his apartment anyway." He offered. It would be fun having Daiki as a roommate, honestly Daiki was there so much already that it probably wouldn't actually be much different than it was now. Yamada gave Yuto a look.

"Why? You're probably not going to be here much longer either, Yuto. If things really go as poorly with your parents as you expect them to when you tell them about Keito, do you really think it would be a good idea—from a political standpoint—to stay here? I don't think Hikaru and Yabu would kick you out, but harboring the disowned heir to Nakajima enterprises would put them in poor favor with your parents and their business allies. Do you really want to do that to them?" Yuto froze. He hadn't even considered how his decision would affect his ties to his friends. What Yamada was saying made a lot of sense. Yamada was looking at him sympathetically.

"You're right." Yuto conceded. He paused. "Should I start looking for somewhere to stay?" Yamada shrugged.

"I wouldn't worry about it. If everything works out, then you'll have done all of that work, and maybe even put down a deposit and everything, for nothing. But if it does all go downhill, Dai-chan's already told me you could move in with him until you find somewhere of your own, and a job." Yuto could barely believe his ears. Yamada and Daiki had thought so much about him, and had made plans to take care of him, to help him, even before he'd thought that he might need them. It was awe inspiring, their consideration of him, and he felt tears of gratitude welling up in his eyes. He swallowed, trying to keep them at bay, and he croaked out

"That's...wow. Thank you. You guys...you're the best." Yamada smiled at him, slinging an arm over his shoulder.

"I told you didn't I? I'm on your side. Dai-chan too." He said, giving Yuto a quick squeeze, before getting to his feet, declaring. "I'm going to call Daiki, he's going to want to go shopping. He gets nervous whenever we do what he calls 'rich people things'."

In the days leading up to the engagement party Yuto put a lot of thought into the points Yamada had brought to his attention. Yamada had brought up a completely new aspect of the decision he was making, and while it didn't change his feelings toward Keito, or his final decision, it made him realize that there were other people, people aside from his fiancé, that would be affected by his choice to defy his parents and be with Keito. And so he formed a small plan. As the engagement party was the day before his big dinner with his fiancé, it would be the perfect opportunity to tell his friends—especially Hikaru and Yabu, who had done so much for him—about his decision. He would just mention it quietly, toward the end of the night, so that if any backlash from his decision involved them in some unexpected manner, they wouldn't be completely blindsided.

When the evening of Takaki and Chinen's engagement party came, Yuto was practically vibrating with nerves. He texted back and forth with Keito all throughout his preparation for the party, the older man's blind support, even just through the text on his screen, comforting him. It was going to be alright. It was a party, a celebration, he should at least try to enjoy himself. And so, when Yamada announced that their car was had come, he straightened his tie, took a deep breath, and left his bedroom with a smile on his face. He was traveling with Yamada and Daiki, as Chinen and Takaki were already at the party, helping with the arrangements. Daiki looked just as nervous as Yuto felt, the older man's hand wrapped tightly around Yamada's own, his usual warm smile gone.

But Daiki didn't have much time to be nervous, because soon they had arrived, Chinen and Takaki greeted them with warm smiles and hugs, Hikaru and Yabu inviting them in and telling them how glad they were that they could come. They both immediately went out of their way to tell Daiki just how happy they were to see him, to tell him that Yamada had never been better, happier, than when he was dating Daiki. It made both Yamada and Daiki blush, but it also did a good job of loosening the tense lines in Daiki's shoulders, and for that Yuto was grateful. The first hour or so of the party was mingling, as more and more of the guests arrived. All of the Takaki and Chinen families were there, as well as many friends and colleagues that Yuto hadn't seen in years. It was fantastic to see everybody, to catch up on the happenings in everyone's lives, and he found himself relaxing.

He was amazed by just how many people went out to their way to talk to him, to ask how he was and what he'd been up to. People he hadn't spoken to in years broke away from conversations just to greet him, to flash him a smile and shake his hand, and it really was shocking, just how much people cared. He had a community of people here that cared about him, more people than he'd thought, and he basked in the attention, reveled in it all through the giving of presents, and the speeches, and the cake, bouncing from conversation to conversation, smiling and talking and laughing with the other guests, until one of Takaki's cousins turned to him and asked when they should be expecting the announcement for _his_ wedding.

The words hit Yuto like a slap in the face, and suddenly the warm, loving atmosphere was no longer comforting. It was alienating, it was as if he was suddenly watching the party from an outsider's perspective. Because after tomorrow, that was exactly what he would be. These people, all of these people that had asked him how he was, and had gone out of their way to shake his hand, he would lose them all. He wasn't just giving up his parents, he was giving up his place in a _community_. It was terrifying, and the realization left him feeling numb, and hard of breath. He choked out some attempt at a response, before excusing himself and walking swiftly away, weaving through the crowd of people. He had to escape.

He found a small study, tucked away in one of the upper stories of the house, and he sank down into a red plush chair as the first tear rolled down his cheek. He was afraid. He was so scared to leave his lifestyle behind. To leave the people and places and everything that he knew behind. He could feel the panic ballooning inside of him, swelling up bigger and bigger, and he felt as if he might burst with it. He'd just allowed himself to start crying in earnest, when his phone in his pocket made a noise. Someone was texting him. He considered ignoring it, but even as the thought crossed his mind he was reaching for his phone, pulling it out of his pocket and sniffling, blinking away tears to look at the screen. It was Keito, asking about the party. Instead of texting back, Yuto just hit _call._ Keito picked up on the first ring.

"Yuto?" He could already feel himself calming at the sound of Keito's voice.

"Hey."

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Keito's gentle voice was laced with concern, and Yuto knew he could sense just how upset Yuto was. But he was already beginning to feel better, the genuine, serious concern Keito had for him, and the effect that Keito's voice had on him, doing nothing but prove that his choice to pick Keito, no matter what, was the right one. That knowledge, that understanding, brought with it a wave of relief, and he took a deep breath, wiping his eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

"Are you sure? Can I do anything?"

"You already did, actually." Yuto told him, a small smile on working it's way onto his lips. Keito sounded confused, and a little scared, and he asked

"Did I do something bad?"

"No! No. I wasn't feeling well, but you cheered me up." Yuto explained.

"But I didn't do anything." Keito said quietly, still sounding a bit bewildered. Yuto could feel the anxious weight lifting off of his chest.

"You didn't have to. You on your own is enough." He said, the cheesy words easier to say through the phone than if he had been talking to Keito face to face. It was then though, that the study door opened, and Inoo Kei peeked his head in. "Keito, I have to get back to the party! Sorry. I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun, Yuto." Keito still sounded slightly bewildered, but his voice was full of affection, and Yuto had to bite back an 'I love you' as he said goodbye, hanging up the phone and turning his attention to Inoo. The older man smiled at him, striding over and throwing himself into the chair next to Yuto's own, saying

"You okay? I saw you leaving, you looked upset." He paused. "How are things with...what was his name? Kei...something." Inoo seemed genuinely concerned, and it was nice to be talking to someone tonight that knew about Keito, and cared. Yuto could feel himself smiling.

"Keito. Things are...good. Great. He's amazing." He paused. "I'm going to tell my parents, that I'm going to be with Keito, not the person they picked." Inoo tilted his head in obvious confusion.

"I heard you'd finally agreed to meet with your fiancé."

"I did. I'm meeting with them tomorrow, actually...but, I'm just going to explain to them that I won't be able to marry them, is all. I thought it would be courteous to talk to them in person about it." Yuto explained. Inoo nodded, looking relieved.

"So...does he make you happy?" Yuto blinked over at Inoo in surprise.

"Keito?" The older man nodded. Yuto felt the smile on his lips blooming, and he couldn't stop it if he wanted to. "More happy than I've ever been." He assured Inoo. Inoo nodded, smiling.

"Good. You deserve to be happy, Yuto."

"You too, Inoo-kun. How are things with Saya?" Inoo smiled a little.

"Better. She kinda figured out about my sexual orientation. We've decided we're going to try to make it work anyway." He paused. "I think I could love her. Maybe not romantically, but she's still very...special. I'm lucky." Yuto nodded.

"I'm glad." A small silence fell between them, and then Inoo stood, announcing

"We should rejoin the party." Yuto nodded in agreement, getting to his feet as well, and following the older man back to where the rest of the guests were mingling. The party didn't last for much longer however, and it was only an hour or so later that Yuto managed to get Yabu and Hikaru to himself, with the intention of telling his friends about Keito. Before he got a chance to speak however, Hikaru asked

"Is this about your boyfriend Yuto? Because if it is, Chinen already told us everything." Yuto stared at the party host, dumbfounded. "It is! I knew it!" Hikaru declared. They were smiling at him, and Yabu clapped Yuto on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, we understand. Go get 'em. And remember, if you need anything, just ask, okay? We've got our own business partners, we don't need your parents business to succeed." Yuto nodded, touched by the unwavering show of support.

"Thank you." He murmured, and Hikaru and Yabu grinned, sharing a glance before the both of them wrapped him up in a hug, squeezing him between their bodies. Yabu was already laughing, Hikaru displaying his classic toothy grin, and they hugged him until he was gasping for air and demanding that they let him go, successfully diffusing the serious feeling in the room. When Yuto finally left the party for the night, he felt more confident and supported in his decision than he had yet, and he was determined. Now, all he had to do was get through one dinner, and afterwards one phone call, and for better or worse, the ordeal would be over. And, he thought, as he called Keito back, once he was tucked into bed for the night, Keito's warm voice enveloping him in comfort, even through the phone, it would be for the better.


	15. Chapter 15

Yuto didn't start feeling truly anxious about meeting his fiancé until about ten o'clock the next morning, when he received a parcel from his mother. It was a fine Italian cut suit, more traditional than some of her other works, and silky to the touch. The jacket and pants were made of a shimmery red fabric, that in the right lighting had a gold undertone, while the dress shirt was a deep chocolate brown, the new leather shoes—brogues—matched in color. The tie, pocket square, cuff links, and belt were all a dazzling champagne color that brought out the gold undertones in the red jacket. It was a stunning creation, the perfect outfit for a romantic evening, and it was then, when Yuto was holding the suit, still in its garment bag, that the nerves hit him full force.

He had been putting this night off for years, and now that it was upon him, he was floundering. What was he going to say to this person? How was he going to sit down and explain to them that he wasn't going to marry them? He didn't know anything about them. Well, that wasn't completely true. He knew that they were about the same age. He was pretty sure that his parent's had said that his fiancé was a man. He thought. Maybe. He'd always assumed that they were. His parents knew about his sexual orientation, so...he was pretty sure they would have taken it into account. Not that it mattered now. Aside from that though, he knew nothing. They were shrouded in mystery. He just hoped that they were as nice and understanding as their recent actions led him to believe they were.

He spent the rest of the day preparing for his dinner date. He spent hours in the bathroom, showering and shaving and styling his hair. He brushed his teeth four times, and it was silly, he told himself, to feel this nervous. It wasn't like he was seeking this person's approval; if anything, it would probably be better if they didn't like him. But telling himself that didn't make him any less nervous, and he bounced from foot to foot in front of the mirror, studying his reflection over and over, until Chinen insisted that Yuto let him in; he had to pee and simply couldn't hold it any longer.

He tried texting Keito, and Keito did respond, but the responses were sporadic, and Keito informed him that he was with his parents, planning for some event happening later on in the day. It was the first time Keito had really mentioned his parents, aside from when he'd told Yuto that his car had been his father’s, and Yuto got the feeling that whatever Keito was doing, it must be important, so he tried not to bug him too much. Yuto was ready for the dinner nearly two hours early, changing into his suit anyway, his stomach buzzing with a nervous anticipation. He shoved his hands into his pockets, only to pull them out in confusion.

His mother had tucked a small box into his pocket, a present, no doubt, for his fiancé. She had thought of everything, it seemed. He opened it tentatively, revealing a beautiful watch. He studied the crystal face, taking a deep breath. One thing was for sure, this watch was meant for a man. Somehow, that made him feel a bit better. If his fiancé was a man, then there was a lot lower chance that they would cry at any point during the evening. At least, he hoped that was the case. He slipped the watch back into his pocket, checking his phone. It was still too early to go to the restaurant, and Keito had stopped responding to his texts about an hour ago. Anxious and twitchy, he relocated to the kitchen, where his friends were making dinner for themselves.

Chinen whistled when Yuto walked in, Yamada giving him a good up and down, the older man asking

"Are you sure you're not trying to get your fiancé to fall for you?"

"In that outfit, anyone would." Chinen added. Yuto took a deep breath.

"So I look okay?" Chinen scoffed.

"You look like any man's wet dream." His petite friend assured him. Yuto could feel a blush coloring his cheeks.

"When's dinner?" Yamada asked, going back to the pot he was stirring on the stove. Yuto checked his phone for the time on instinct, bouncing on his heels a bit.

"Seven, but I think I'm going to see if my car is here." Yuto declared. Yamada looked at him in surprise.

"But it's barely past six." Yuto sighed.

"I know, but I want to see what my mother has planned. I don't want to get there, and find that she's got red roses everywhere, and not have time to...I don't know...hide them before my fiancé gets there."

Chinen nodded in understanding, his friends wishing him good luck as he left the penthouse. The hotel staff had his car brought around for him, and with that he was off to the restaurant. He felt like he might be sick, his stomach bubbling with anxiety, and he fiddled with his phone for something to do, taking pictures of himself, checking his hair and straightening his tie in his phone's camera. The ride to the restaurant was a little over twenty minutes, his driver depositing him in front of the restaurant, giving him a smile as Yuto thanked him. He entered the restaurant and was greeted by the hostess. She asked if he had a reservation, and he could barely get the words "Nakajima, party of two" out; they had lodged themselves in his throat, all lumped up on top of each other.

He was led up to the top floor, to a spacious private room. Most of the space was empty, save for a small, intimate table, set for two, and a lavish serving cart in one corner. The lights had been dimmed, but not enough to make the space too romantic, to Yuto's relief. The focus of the room was the wall that the table was closest to. It was made completely of glass, giving Yuto a spectacular view of the city, and the dusk that was beginning to fall. Yuto was relieved to see that there were no extravagant bouquets of flowers, or cheesy banners. It was tasteful, classy, and he took a seat, his waiter getting him some water and—after being assured he didn't need anything else—let Yuto be.

The anticipation was killing him. His heart was racing in his chest, adrenaline pumping through his veins, and he tried to keep from fiddling with the silverware, tried to take deep breaths and assure himself that everything was going to be fine. He looked out the window, distracting himself with thoughts of Keito. After this was all over, nothing would stand in the way of him and Keito being together. Nothing would keep them apart. He thought about more days like their day at the beach, more nights cuddled up against each other, Keito's warm arms wrapped around him. It did serve to relax him a bit, until he heard the sound of the door opening, and his heart leapt into his throat, his head whipping around. For a moment, Yuto forgot to breathe, because _Keito_ walked through the door.

Keito looked amazing. He was in a three piece suit, a traditional dark gray silk, but he'd forgone any tie, his white dress shirt unbuttoned all the way to his vest, his tan skin peeking through. He looked like a rock star, his long hair styled around his face. He seemed nervous, his eyebrows furrowed, lips pursed, a serious expression on his face. Yuto was bewildered. What was Keito doing here? How was he going to explain this to his fiancé once they got here? He stood, going to meet Keito halfway, and Keito's eyes met his, the older man looking more unsure than he ever had around Yuto. Seeing that look in Keito's eyes did nothing but heighten his own concern, and once they were close enough he said

"Hey. What's going on? Why are you here?" He paused, taking in just how nervous Keito looked. "Is everything okay?" Keito swallowed, looking wide eyed at Yuto.

"It's nearly seven, I didn't want to be late." Keito's voice was so quiet it could barely be heard. Yuto glanced back at the door, hoping that his fiancé wouldn't show up before he could figure out what was going on. He took Keito's hand, and Keito laced their fingers together. The action comforted him, and he tried not to be distracted by just how amazing Keito looked, and focus on figuring out why Keito was here.

"Keito, I'm happy to see you, but I'm supposed to be meeting someone here. I have to...discuss something important with them. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, but..." He glanced back over Keito's shoulder, relieved to see no one but the waiters. Keito meanwhile, was tearing up, and he was trembling, his whole body shaking. Yuto gave his hand a squeeze, becoming more concerned by the second; what was wrong? But then Keito took a deep breath, and said

"Yuto...it's me. I'm the person you're meeting here. I'm...I'm the person your parents picked for you to marry." Yuto froze.

"What? How do you know...?" His mind was racing. "But...but I'm supposed to be marrying the heir to Nishi hotels...your name isn't Nishi, so...there's no way you could..." Keito was still giving him that scared look.

"My mother's maiden name was Nishi, it was her family that started the franchise. I got my dad's name, but I'm their only child, so...I'm the rightful heir." Keito explained. Yuto blinked at him numbly, shocked.

"You're my fiancé?' He finally squeaked out. Keito nodded, a tear rolling down his cheek. Yuto didn't know what to think. What to feel, about any of it. "Let's...sit down." He suggested, and Keito nodded, following Yuto to their table, and taking his seat, the wait staff filling their glasses, as Yuto asked "So...you knew, all this time?"

"I...I didn't mean to keep it from you!" Keito said hurriedly. "I'd been wanting to meet you for a long time. I heard so much about you from my parents, and their friends, as I'd grown up. They'd tell me stories about my future husband, tell me that you were tall, that you were kind. They'd tell me about your accomplishments and show me pictures of you. But I was supposed to be focusing on my education, and so I stayed in England. But then your mother started pushing for the wedding to happen soon, and so I transferred schools and moved back to Japan, hoping that if I came early, it would give us some time to really get to know each other before the wedding.

"I was so surprised when I ran into you in that music store." Keito was blushing, his voice shaking; Yuto was transfixed by the words coming out of Keito's mouth. "I hadn't seen any pictures of you since your high school graduation, but there was no mistaking that it was you." He paused, glancing over at Yuto, a small smile on his face. "You were even more handsome than I had been anticipating. But then I ran into you again, and I couldn't resist introducing myself. I figured when I said my name you would make the connection—I knew yours by heart, even if I'd never met you—but you didn't seem to know who I was. I figured, when you asked me to go get coffee with you, that I could somehow bring it up then, but there was never a good time, and honestly, I was completely enamored by you. You were a million times more beautiful, more funny, more multifaceted, than the Yuto I had been picturing in my head, and I was enjoying getting to know you, as you were, without the titles and formalities I knew we would endure later on.

"When we parted ways that day, and we exchanged phone numbers, I figured it would be okay. Perhaps you would piece it together on your own. I could still tell you, even if you didn't. But there was never a good time, and I didn't know how to go about bringing it up. And then, when I was invited to your mother's fashion show, I figured that would be my chance. I could run into you there, and explain. I had it all planned out, and your parents even sent me an email, suggesting a specific spot to meet, after the show. It seemed like everything would work out. But when I saw you there, and you were fighting with them, I got scared. You didn't want to meet me. You weren't happy about the marriage. I hadn't known that you were so opposed until then; I'd never seen you so upset, and so once you ran off, I hid.

"I didn't know what to do, Yuto. I was already falling in love with you, and I was so afraid of what you would say, or think, that I never got up the courage to tell you who I was. I nearly did, every time we met, I would tell myself that today was the day. But every time I faltered. It was so easy to just let you be happy instead. I would forget the secret, when I was with you. I reveled in you. But I was still unsure. I knew I loved you, but I didn't know if you loved me too, and so I waited for some sort of sign." He paused. “I waited too long, and I got you into trouble with your family. I knew something had to be wrong when you missed our brunch. Once I had figured out what had happened I fixed it as fast as I could, but I still caused you grief. It was my fault you were put in such a difficult position, the least I could do was get you out of it.”

Yuto blinked in surprise. Keito had been the one to come to his rescue when his parents had restricted him to their home...the servant had said that it had been his fiancé that had convinced his parents to let him go. So that meant that they already knew. They already knew about Keito. He didn’t need to worry about having to explain it all to them. The realization came with a wash of relief, but Keito didn’t seem to notice, still visibly nervous, his eyes cast downward, voice shaking slightly. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"I was going to tell you on the beach. I nearly did, countless times. But I didn't want you to look at me the way you'd looked at your parents that night, and so I told myself that we could have one perfect day together. One that I could treasure, just in case you decided you never wanted to see me again. The next time I saw you, that would be the time that I came clean."

"When the phone call came in, and your mother said you finally agreed to meeting me. Not _Keito,_ but your fiancé, whom you’d been protesting strongly for so long. I thought that it was the perfect opportunity. I didn't mean for this to go on for so long. I know you're probably mad at me, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for lying to you. I didn't want to deceive you. I don't want to hurt you, Yuto." He paused, sniffling, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I love you. I'm so sorry for this. For everything."

Yuto listened in amazement to Keito's explanation, the whole thing so fantastical as to almost not seem real. But Keito looked so afraid, and honest, that Yuto believed him. And if this was true, if Keito was his fiancé, then that meant...that meant...he could feel a wave of relief wash over him, and he could feel the smile blooming on his lips, and when Keito finally told him that he loved him, Yuto stood, skirting around the edge of the table and leaning in, placing a kiss on Keito's lips. Keito kissed him back, the older man reaching up and cradling Yuto's head, pulling him in. When they finally broke away, Keito asked

"Aren’t you angry?" Yuto blinked.

"Angry? Keito, this is a dream come true. I'm relieved. I'm _so_ relieved." He paused. "You know, I came here tonight to tell my fiancé that I couldn't marry them. Because I wanted to be with you. Because I love you." He could feel himself getting emotional as he finally said those words, and he worked to keep the tears at bay. But then Keito began to cry in earnest, and the older man stood, pulling Yuto into a hug, and Yuto broke down, crying too. It was amazing, that Keito was his fiancé. It was perfect. He placed a kiss to Keito's neck, the first patch of bare skin he could find, and he pulled himself together. But then Keito pulled away, and he said

“I have something...something else.” He got down on one knee, taking one of Yuto's hands in his own, and he wiped furiously at his tears, clearing his throat, and saying

"Yuto, at first I was in love with the idea of you, but then I got to know you, and I realized that you, the real you, was better than any fantasy I could create. I love you; you make me the happiest I've ever been in my entire life, and..." He choked up, and Yuto could feel tears threatening to spill over again, because, was Keito doing what Yuto thought he was doing? "...if you let me, I promise to make you happy too. I'll love you more than anyone has ever loved you, always." Keito dug into his pocket, pulling out a beautiful diamond ring. "Will you marry me?" Yuto gave up on any composure he was attempting to keep, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Yes." Keito stood, and Yuto reached for him, pulling him in, and kissing him, and Keito lifted him up, holding him tight. Yuto felt so happy he could burst, his chest light and tight all at the same time, and when they broke apart Keito slid the ring onto his finger, and Yuto murmured "I love you." Keito beamed back at him, pulling him in, so that they were a hair’s breadth apart, and he said back, in that deep, gentle voice of his

"Always."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This last little chapter is an epilogue! Thank you for reading!

Yuto woke slowly, leaving his eyes squeezed shut as he came to consciousness, preferring instead to just relish the feeling of warmth from the rays of sunlight streaming through the bedroom window on his face, and Keito’s strong arms wrapped around his waist, his husband’s chest pressed up against Yuto’s back. He could feel the steady pound of Keito’s heart, and the calming in and out of his breathing, Keito’s face buried into Yuto’s neck. He eventually opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light of morning, and he slid his fingers across the sheet covering their bodies, letting his fingers intertwine with Keito’s, their matching rings glinting in the sunlight.

The peace was broken by the harsh sound of one of Keito’s many alarms, blaring gratingly that it was time to get up and face the day, and Keito let out a small whine, burying his face even further into the crook of Yuto’s neck for a moment, before taking his hand out of Yuto’s to slap at the clock until it shut up. He moved as if to go back to sleep, but Yuto pushed himself to a sitting position, effectively dislodging Keito from the way they’d been wrapped around each other, and Keito yawned, blinking and angling his head on his pillow so that he could look up at Yuto.

He was adorable, his long hair half in his face, eyes still glassy, and silently he reached for Yuto, grabbing one of his arms and wrapping both of his own around it, pulling it close and pressing a kiss to Yuto’s wrist. Yuto, completely smitten, leaned down, pressing a kiss to Keito’s lips.

“Good morning.” He murmured, once the kiss broke, and Keito smiled in spite of himself, before asking

“Do we have to get out of bed today?” Over the past few years living in Japan had caused his accent to start to fade away, but his voice was just as deep and tender as the day they’d met, and Yuto smiled, nodding.

“C’mon. Inoo will kill us if we miss the party, he’s been planning it for months.” Keito nodded, knowing that Yuto was right, but he didn’t make any move to get up, silent for a moment, before saying

“If you stay here with me I’ll make it worth your while, I promise.” That made Yuto laugh, a grin cracking on Keito’s face too, and Keito finally sat up, rubbing at his eyes and slinging an arm around Yuto’s waist, pulling him closer and kissing him again, this kiss a bit less innocent than Yuto’s good morning kiss, longer and more passionate, and when it finally broke Yuto wasn’t laughing any longer, his breathing heavy, and he nodded.

“You make a compelling argument.” He admitted, and Keito leaned in, kissing him again. But when that kiss ended Yuto’s eyes caught on the clock, and he sighed. “C’mon, we really have to get up.”

“Okay.” Keito conceded, pulling himself out from under their sheets and to his feet. Yuto watched him for a moment, loving watching Keito, appreciating his toned body and the way his muscles moved under his tanned skin, even after three years of marriage. It wasn’t until Keito moved to find himself clothes, walking off in the direction of his closet, that Yuto finally got out of bed, heading for his own wardrobe. They had a party to attend that day. Inoo was throwing a _‘we’ll-take-the kid-you-go-have-fun-party’_ for Daiki and Yamada, the two having adopted their first child a few months previously, after years of waiting. Yuto wasn’t sure the party was strictly necessary, but Inoo had insisted.

Inoo and Daiki had grown very close, the two having met a handful of times before, but really hitting it off at Chinen and Takaki’s wedding. It had probably been their friendship that had really cemented Daiki’s place in their circle of friends, and had brought Inoo out of his shell. Inoo seemed to finally be happy, his marriage—while not conventional, as there was no _romance_ between the spouses—an accepting, loving environment for both him and Saya, and Yuto was so glad. Yabu and Hikaru meanwhile, had managed to break into the world market, their hotels now in over thirty-six different countries. They were hospitality tycoons, their success awe inspiring.

Takaki and Chinen on the other hand were enjoying the lap of luxury. With Saya and Inoo handling Chinen’s family business, and Takaki’s older sister Yui controlling the Takaki corporation with an iron fist, Yuto’s friends had been left with a pile of money and nothing but free time, and they were taking advantage of it. They had been traveling the world for over a year, spending a month in each country they came to, hitting up what seemed like every beach known to man. They had bought houses all over Europe, and they had great stories to tell whenever they came back home. They seemed to be loving life, seizing the moment, and it was wonderful to see the two of them so happy.

It had been a long time since the nine of them were all together, and it would be nice to spend a day relaxing with his friends Yuto mused, getting into his favorite pair of jeans, rolling up the cuffs, and slipping on a tank top and a short sleeved button down, emerging from his closet to see Keito dressed similarly, the older man putting the top half of his hair into a small ponytail. He caught Yuto’s eye in the mirror, asking tentatively

“How do I look?” Yuto grinned, taking a few steps closer and fiddling with the little ponytail, before running his hands over Keito’s muscular arms.

“Very hot.” He declared, and Keito giggled, turning around and pulling Yuto to him, kissing him. Yuto hummed appreciatively into the kiss, tangling his fingers into the long strands of hair Keito had left down, loving the feeling of it sliding over his fingertips. Keito had tried a couple of different hairstyles over the years, but Yuto liked it best when it was long like this. When he could easily grab a fistful of it.

“Breakfast?” Keito offered when the kiss broke, and Yuto nodded, letting his hand drop, saying

“Let me just grab a couple of cameras for the party.”

“Oh! Can you grab one of the polaroids? I know Dai-chan likes those.” Keito said, and Yuto nodded, heading off in the direction of his photography room, Keito making his way down to the kitchen. They ate and brushed their teeth, and then, hand in hand they left the house, climbing into Keito’s powder blue Jaguar, and went off to the party in the same fashion they had done everything the past three years—together.


End file.
